After immigrating to the West over ten years ago, Ra (short for Raja) came to realize that the South Asian experience in America wasn't all nice cars and palm trees. On the contrary, he found himself living amongst murderers and drug dealers.

Through his experiences, come raw, hard-edged 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. Placed over hip-hop beats, Bohemia the Punjabi Rapper makes it seem as though Punjabi was made to be rapped rather than merely spoken.

Raja looks up to artists such as Jagjeet Singh and the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. His music has created a big impact on the streets of America and he has a large underground following and is widely recognized as the pioneer of Desi-Hip-Hop.

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

This new genre of music, known as Desi-Hip-Hop is not only for those who speak Punjabi but for those who love rap music. Bohemia’s lyrics expose us to the western streets from a young Desi’s point of new, make way for the pioneer of Desi-Hip-Hop, king of Punjabi rap.

www.punjabirapstar.com