sUmThIn aBoUt bOheMia

Who is Bohemia?

Bohemia is a Pakistani-American Punjabi Rapper. Ra or Raja aka Bohemia aka Bohemia The Punjabi Rapper. Bohemia was born as Roger David at October 15th 1979 in Karachi, Pakistan. He is recognized as the king of Punjabi rap and a PIONEER of Desi-Hip-Hop world-wide.

When Raja was only 14 his family immigrated from Pakistan to 'bay area'. While growing up in the rough streets of Oakland, CA, Raja used rapping as an outlet to escape from his thug life style. He took a bold step and became a local musician who played along with artists such as Sunil Khanna (you will find him listed in Sunil's bio) and Manesh Judge. Sunil has referred to 'Ra', as a great musician and a poet; Raja soon started putting his poetry to his music and gave birth to Bohemia, the punjabi rapper.

Through his experiences, come raw raps depicting not just California street life, but a life many South Asians lead in America. His lyrics are in Punjabi, while many of the hooks are in English. Raja looks up to artists such as Jagjit Singh and the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.

First Album

Bohemia's first album, Vich Pardesan De (In The Foreign Lands), was released independently in 2002 and was soon among the top ten most requested songs on BBC radio 1 in the UK.

Second Album

His next album, Pesa Nasha Pyar (Money Drugs Love), was released in 2006 under Universal Music Group Pvt. Ltd. India and Ishq Records, UK making it the first ever full-length Desi-Rap album to be released by a major label. Hailing from California USA, Bohemia unloads automatic rounds of street-savvy Punjabi raps interlaced with pounding kicks, chunky bass lines and contagious melodies.

Third Album

This is Bohemia’s second official release in India after the earlier album Pesa Nasha Pyar introduced the sensational Punjabi rapper Bohemia to the nation and it’s his third release worldwide. Da Rap Star comes right after Bohemia’s Bollywood performances with Akshay Kumar, probably the right time to release an album.

Bollywood playback can really get you a lot of recognition across the globe. Da Rap Star has been written and produced entirely by Bohemia himself. This is something I like about the dude. The expectations are at an all time high especially after Pesa Nasha Pyar blew my mind away.