Bohemia (rapper)

Roger David (Punjabi:راجر ڈیوڈ, pronounced[ɾaːd͡ʒəɾɖeːʋɪɖ]; born 15 October 1979), better known by his stage name Bohemia, is a Pakistani singer-songwriter and record producer, mainly associated with Punjabi hip-hop music. He is considered to be one of the pioneers of the Desi hip hop industry.

Early and personal life

Bohemia was born on 15 October 1979 in Karachi, Sindh, to a Punjabi Christian family originally from Lahore, Punjab. He was raised and educated in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. At the age of 13, he moved to the United States with his family. Bohemia married Sunny David on 13 June 2017 in a small ceremony in the Bay Area of San Francisco, California.

Career

In early 2000, 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 (Seth Agress). Discovering that they both shared a deep interest in music, they made plans to form their own record label, which they subsequently called "The Outfit Entertainment". After Sha heard Bohemia reciting something he had written in Punjabi he asked him to rap it over one of his beats. Over the next few months, he wrote a library of lyrics. This would become the arsenal for his debut album Vich Pardesan De (transl.In The Foreign Land) – an autobiographical story of his life as a Desi youngster adapting to the streets of America, which he and Sha One produced together. Their first single "Sha Te Ra" was released as a music video, but the song itself was not included on Vich Pardesan De.

His following sophomore album, Pesa Nasha Pyar (transl.Money, Intoxication, Love) became the first full-length Punjabi rap album to be released by a major label. It was recorded and produced by Sha One and Bohemia in their downtown Oakland studio. After nearly two years of perfecting their sound and style, the album was finally released. The album also featured veteran American rapper Snoop Dogg, which marked the first international hip hop collaboration in the desi hip-hop scene. He subsequently signed a multi-record deal with music label Universal Music Group. In 2006, Pesa Nasha Pyar was on the Top 10 downloads of Maxim, and No. 3 on Planet M chart India.[unreliable source?] Around the same time, his first album Vich Pardesan De got nominated in BBC UK top ten albums. Da Rap Star, his third album, received four nominations at the UK Asian Music Awards and PTC Punjabi music awards. It also remained at No. 1 on Planet M chart for several weeks.

He performed the title track for Warner Bros film Chandni Chowk To China, appearing in the film with Akshay Kumar and Deepika Padukone. A few months later, he also performed the title track for another film featuring Akshay Kumar, 8 x 10 Tasveer. In 2011, he gave a song as a present to Akshay Kumar for his first Hollywood production Breakaway.

In May 2012, Sony Music India signed Bohemia. As part of the association, Sony Music managed his music albums, launches and shows under its management program. In September 2012, he released his fourth studio album Thousand Thoughts.

In 2013, it won Best Non-Resident Punjabi Album award at PTC Punjabi Music Awards. At the Coke Studio Sessions, he was the first rap artist, appearing in their fifth season where he performed three songs. Bohemia has also recorded a collaboration with Sonu Kakkar and Jamaican American artist Sean Kingston.

In 2015, Bohemia & J.Hind launched their own music label Kali Denali Music. Bohemia has since departed the company & J.Hind is currently the CEO. Bohemia appeared in XXL magazine in New York.

In 2017, Bohemia released his fifth studio album Skull & Bones: The Final Chapter, after releasing the first single, "Zamana Jali" on 18 October 2016 and the second single "Meri Jeet" on 7 February 2017, just a week before the album's release.

On 26 July 2018, he released the first single "Sandesa" from his EP Skull & Bones: Volume 2 was released, which turned out to be a remixed version of one of his unreleased singles. On 27 November 2018, Bohemia released the first original single "Koi Farak Nahi" for his EP Skull & Bones: Volume 2. In an interview, Bohemia stated his album was going to be released as an EP, but all the songs were eventually released as singles.

At the end of 2018, Bohemia embarked on a tour in India, where he performed in Chandigarh, Delhi, Mumbai, and Rajasthan. He also appeared on an episode of McDowell's No.1 Yaari Jam alongside Raftaar and Salim Merchant.

In February 2019, Bohemia released the third single "Umeed" from his EP Skull and Bones: Volume 2. In the following month, he also collaborated with Indian rapper Sidhu Moose Wala on the song "Same Beef".

In April 2022, Bohemia released his fifth studio album named as "I Am I.C.O.N" (In Control Of Nothing). In this album Bohemia features guest appearances from artists like Noveen Morris and many more. The music of the album was produced by Deep Jandu.

In April 2024, he released his sixth studio album, Rap Star Reloaded, comprising 10 tracks.

Awards and nominations

Discography

Studio albums

Mixtapes

Extended Plays

Bohemia EP (2025)

Released on 28 March 2025, this is Bohemia's first official EP featuring six tracks.

Singles discography

As lead artist

As featured artist

Coke Studio

• "School Di Kitaab"
• "Paisay Da Nasha"
• "Kandyaari Dhol Geet"
• "Saari Duniya"

MTV Spoken Worde

• "Purana Wala"
• "Jaane Jana"

Film soundtracks

External links