KARACHI:
Born in Karachi, schooled in Peshawar and based in California, Pakistani-American musician Bohemia is the only globally recognised Punjabi rapper. The musician, who raps to poetry, gained global fame with his debut album Vich Pardesan De, which took the international rap scene by storm. The mastermind behind the catchy “Kaali De Naali” and “Ek Tera Pyar” was recently in Karachi and during his trip shared his opinion about desi rap music.
Bohemia, who started writing poetry at very young age, believes the
setbacks he faced earlier in life have made him the star he is today.
The rapper, whose family shifted to the US when he was 13, recalls his
struggle adjusting to a new place where he didn’t even know the local
language. “As fate would have it, my mother passed away soon after we
moved and I left home after this. I was living on the streets and
playing with some musicians when a close friend was murdered. Another
went to jail,” the musician recalls.
When asked how one moves from poetry to rapping, the artist replies,
“I believe it’s the same thing. When I moved to America, I felt I
couldn’t connect with other
desi children. The poetry I was
writing was heavily inspired by famous Pakistani poets and I slowly
began to recognise that I could connect the most with rap artists. Their
music had the same message that I was trying to convey.”
Leading the way
Being a trendsetter in his own genre, Bohemia has a vast array of
followers but none of them have managed to impress him substantially.
“I’ve seen rappers from all over the world — as well as from India and
Pakistan — but no one has thus far impressed me from the subcontinent,”
says Bohemia.
“All the aspiring rappers around the world —
desis in
particular — need to realise that just listening to rap music and
singing along the lyrics, while may be good training, will not turn them
into artists,” he says, adding that being a rapper is more than just
donning the outfit and wearing thick chains. Instead, Bohemia is of the
opinion that rapping is not only a matter of saying some random lyrics;
it is actually the expression of one’s own evolution. “Since you’re
giving words to your own life, you better know yourself well.”
However, his disappointment with
desi rappers doesn’t make
him pessimistic about the future of rap in Pakistan. “Pakistan is an
unpredictable country; you can expect anything out of it,” says Bohemia.
“Pop was never a ‘
desi’ thing but they made it their own with
icons like Sajjad Ali, Awaz, Vital Signs and many others, who first
understood the music and then composed their own songs. Pakistani pop is
only called this because it is sung by Pakistanis, however, it is
recognisable all over the world as part of the pop genre — this same
concept should be applied to every sort of music. I’m sure about one
thing — if proper rap music ever comes from Pakistan, it will be a
customised version and people will love it.”
Bohemia’s own poetry serves as a constant reminder of where he comes
from. When asked whose poetry has inspired him the most, the
Pakistani-American rapper replies, “People like Faiz Ahmed Faiz and
Mirza Ghalib are our icons and most of my poetry is inspired by them.
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’.” He adds, “But it is only those listeners
who have read the work of these great men will be able to make the link
and find other influences in my work.”
