He is the first of a kind. Rap is usually sung in English, even if the
song is in Hindi, Punjabi or English itself. But Bohemia raps in
Punjabi. No one’s done that before, and no follower — if any — has been
noticed.
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 rap usually
is just a part of a song. He is also vastly proud of India’s musical
heritage, and is a great fan of Lata Mangeshkar, Mukesh, Kishore Kumar
and Jagjit Singh in particular. “That’s the real gold to be treasured.
It’s our heritage and I listen a lot to them,” he says.
“Da Rap
Star,” he says, “is all me, without any samples used other than my
tribute track to Malkit Singh. I am showing off how good a producer I
am! I have used a lot of bass, beats and keyboards and I have even done
the sequencing. My associate J. Hind has added the desi hip-hop. There
are tracks that describe my journey. To sum up, it’s me saying, ‘I’m me!
Look, I’m still here!’”
Pioneers like Malkit Singh and Rabbi
Shergill are unhappy about the current Punjabi pop scenario. What is his
take? “I am optimistic,” he replies. “Being proper or right is a vast
statement. When a U.K.-born Sikh comes out with a bhangra-pop album,
what is important to me is not that the Punjabi accent is not correct
but that a U.K.-raised guy is actually singing in Punjabi.”
He
describes his collaboration with Akshay Kumar in “Chandni Chowk to
China” and “8x10 Tasveer” as a “fantasy-come-true.” “Dad loves Akshay
Kumar for the edgy stuff that he does and when he was once watching his
film he asked me, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if Akshay called you to do a
song?’ I agreed, but asked him why it would happen? And it was bizarre
that six weeks later Pooja Batra called up and stated that Akshay wanted
to be in touch with me!”
The superstar invited Bohemia to the
Torino Film Festival to the premiere of “Singh is Kinng” and they walked
the red carpet together. “He told me that he always worked out to my
music and we hopped into his limo and he told me that he needed a song
for his film and gave me a brief. That same night, I started making a
beat for ‘Chandni Chowk To China.’ Some months later, he called up from
Cape Town and got me to hear the synopsis of ‘8x10 Tasveer.’ We are
working again in ‘De Dhana Dhan.’”
And what’s with the
angry-yet-sad kind of look on his new inlay cover? Laughs the rapper,
“Ha! That’s the music company’s choice! I had chosen another picture but
they insisted on this one! You will have to pull them up for it!”
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Punjabi
rapper Bohemia’s most awaited album Da Rap Star has finally been
released worldwide. 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 . Not only me but a whole lot of Bohemia’s fans are
looking forward to the album. It’s been a real long wait for all of us.
Let’s get in and check out the album.
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.”