My Favourite Singer

my favourite singer is bohemia.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...