| Bohemia |
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| Birth name | Roger David |
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| Also known as | Bohemia, Punjabi Rap Da Badshah, Raja, The Punjabi Rapper, |
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| Born | 15 October 1979 (age 35)
Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan[1] |
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| Origin | California, United States |
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| Genres | Rap, Desi Hip Hop |
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| Years active | 2002–present |
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| Labels | Sony Music India, Kali Denali Music Universal Music India, T-Series, Speed Records Panj-aab Records. |
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| Associated acts | Snoop Dogg, Sean Kingston,Baby Bash, Glasses Malone,Kurupt, Akshay Kumar, Neha Kakkar, Mika Singh, Tigerstyle,Malkit Singh, Gippy Grewal, Sonu Kakkar, Rishi Rich, Taz, Devika Chawla, Coke Studio, Jasmine Sandlas, The Bilz and Kashif, Haji Springer, Sukhe Musical Doctorz,Avenue OB, J Hind |
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| Website | thepunjabirapper.com |
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Early life
Bohemia started learning music from his father, and writing Punjabi poetry around that time.
[1] He occasionally played keyboards at local Desi events. He wrote songs and poetry, mostly in
Urdu and
Punjabi. His mother died of
cancer[3] when he was 16 years old. At the same time he got a job at a recording studio in
Sacramento. He dropped out of school and left his family to become a full-time
musician. Along with a group of other musicians, he toured and playing gigs in the
US and
Canada, sleeping in cars and on recording studio floors.
He moved to join his cousin in
Oakland, who was working at a West Oakland recording studio, and introduced him to a young hip hop producer called Sha One. Sha heard Bohemia reciting something he had written in Punjabi, and asked him to rap it over one of his beats. Over the next few months, Bohemia wrote the lyrics for his debut album
Vich Pardesan De(In The Foreign Land) – an autobiographical story of his life as a
Desi youngster adapting to life in the US. This album was a new genre of music which is today known as
Desi Hip hop. Bohemia claims to be inspired by the poets
Faiz Ahmed Faiz,
Mirza Ghalib and
Allama Iqbal. He said in an interview, "People like Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Mirza Ghalib are our icons and most of my poetry is inspired by them.
[4] For instance, in one of my songs, I talk about ‘going beyond the stars’, the idea of which is essentially taken from Allama Iqbal’s ‘Sitaron Se Aagay Jahan Aur Bhi Hain’."
[1]
Career
His independent debut album,
Vich Pardesan De reached the Top 10 on
BBC Radio UK in 2002. The following album,
Pesa nasha pyar [Money, intoxication, love]
[5] became the first full-length Punjabi rap album released by a major label. He subsequently signed a multi-record deal with music label
Universal Music Group [2006 - 2009]. In 2006
Pesa nasha pyarwas #2 on the Top 10 downloads of
Maxim (magazine), and #3 on
Planet M chart India.
[3] Da rap star, his third album, received four nominations at the
UK Asian Music Awards and
PTC Punjabi music awards, including Best Punjabi Album and Best Music Director.
[citation needed] It also remained at #1 on
Planet M chart several weeks.
[6] Bohemia toured in 2009. performing in
North America,
Australia,
Europe and
Asia. He has appeared on several of Universal India’s compilations. Bohemia was one of the best-selling artists of the year in 2009 for
Universal Music Group India.
[citation needed]
Bohemia also made a voice performance for the film
Desi Boyz to set the cameo scene for
Sanjay Dutt. In September 2012 he released his fourth album
Thousand thoughts.
[10] He also produced the album
Gulabi for
Jasmine Sandlas[11]In 2013, it won Best Non-Resident Punjabi Album award at
PTC Punjabi Music Awards.
[12] At the
Coke Studio Sessions he was the first rap artist, appearing in their season 5 and performing three songs, as well as the poem ‘Geet mere yaad jiven school di kitaab’ at Coke Studio.
[citation needed]
2009-2014
Bohemia toured in 2009 performing in Europe, Asia and America. His work was included in several of Universal India’s compilations, including three tracks on
The Chart Busters.
[15]
In May 2012,
Sony Music India signed Bohemia. As part of the association, Sony Music managed his music albums, launches and shows under its artist management program.
[16][17] In 2014 Bohemia decided to go independent under his own music label
Kali Denali Music.
[18]
Bohemia appeared in
XXL magazine in New York.
[6]
Discography
Albums
Film music
Singles
- "All Around The World" - Bohemia ft Aman
- "Kala Doriya" - Bohemia ft Dj Chintu
- "Evury day" - Bohemia
- "Paigam" - Bohemia
- "Sharabi" Gippy Grewal ft. Bohemia (musician)
- "Keep It G" - Bohemia ft Kurupt
- "Talli" - Bohemia ft Gitta Bains and Tigerstyle
- "What Have I Learned" - Bohemia ft Jennifer F
- "Rooh (the Soul)" - Bohemia
- "Yaad Anah" - Bohemia
- "Brand New Swag" - Bohemia ft Haji Springer and Panda Vution
- "Main" - Bohemia
- "My Shoes" - MiddleMan ft. Mr. Kay & Bohemia
- "Meri Bandook" - Bohemia ft. Haji Springer
- "Koi Ni Parwaa" - Haji Springer ft. Bohemia (musician)
- "Devil Inside" - Haji Springer ft. Bohemia (musician) & Marty James
- "Jaguar" - Sukhe Muzical Doctorz ft. Bohemia (musician)
- "Yaraan De Siraa Te" - Nishawn Bhullar ft. Bohemia (musician)
- "Patola" - Guru Randhawa ft. Bohemia (musician)
Coke Studio
Awards and nominations
References
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