Bohemia Punjabi Rapper

Bohemia’s real name — he does not hide it — is Roger David. What’s a Christian doing singing Punjabi rap? “I am from Punjab, where my great-grandfather converted from Sikhism to Christianity for some reason,” says Bohemia simply. “However in my house, the Granth Sahib and the Bible were both there, though I was raised as a Christian. As for me, I believe in God, but I am not religious.” The term “Bohemia” suggests flouting traditional mores. And rap is all about personal angst or feelings. So what is Bohemia the man all about? “Well, I lost my mom when I was just 14 or 15, and I was quite a momma’s boy. That made me mad and I was kind of pushed into negative things. I have to thank God for music, for that’s what finally made me wake up and gave a reason to live. Dad played the harmonium and I learnt the keyboard.” He goes on, “When we shifted to the U.S., I lived a strange life. I was virtually living at the Milan Recording Studios in Sacramento and sleeping there or in cars. Harjeet Mehndi, Daler Mehndi’s brother, and I would go perform at occasions like birthdays and marriages, where I would play a bit of keyboards. I also worked with Jazzy B and others. I was friends with Suresh Margoli, a tabla player, and when he passed away at a young age and was replaced by another tabla player just as easily as if he was a broken instrument, I was mad again. I told the studio engineer that I was through with being a keyboard player who could go into anonymity if he died tomorrow. I wanted to do something where I would stand out!” Bohemia’s first album was “Vich Pardesan De” in 2002, which was about coming to a foreign land. Hip-hop was then limited to the underground, and he pioneered Punjabi rap. Then came “Pesa Nasha Pyar” (Money, Intoxication, Love) in 2006 in India, the first-ever full-length desi rap album to be released worldwide on a major music label (Universal). Bohemia says that his emotions are first-hand and are about what has happened either to him or people very close to him. “My emotions tend to be on the edge of the extreme,” says Bohemia. “Like a high when I am feeling good about myself, or when I am very bitter, like when a person of color in America is forced to even take off his socks while being frisked or is continually bothered by cops. I have never written my rap from sheer imagination or from fairytale land.” “Da Rap Star,” his new album, also has some regular songs, as Bohemia realizes that r