Baba Sehgal Helped AR Rahman Seal Roja's Album Deal On A BIG Condition: 'Even if They Don’t Like It'

In the 1990s, Baba Sehgal was one of the first Indian rap artists to establish a successful music career. His rap cassettes were popular, and he even starred in his own music videos. During this time, he had a brief encounter with AR Rahman, although it turned out to be his only collaboration with him.

In a recent interview on the YouTube channel Timeout With Ankit, Baba shared that he met AR Rahman and Mani Ratnam during one of his concerts in Chennai. They were interested in releasing the Hindi version of the Roja album, and Baba helped connect them with the music label, Magnasound.

Baba said he made a deal during negotiations: he’d sing at least one song for Roja’s Hindi album. He kept his word by singing a song, Rukmani Rukmani, which turned out to be a hit. “I told then I will sing at least one song, even if they like it or don’t like it. So I sang one song and that was the first and the last song that I sang for Rahman. I said you will have to give me a song or Magnasound won’t make a deal. I sang it and it was a hit,” he recalled.

Baba was surprised when he got the lyrics to sing because he found them a bit rude. The music company told him he had asked for the song, so he had to sing it. Even today, he still performs remixes of this song at his concerts.

In the 90s, Baba Sehgal was the cool rapper all Indian kids loved. His tapes sold like hot cakes, and he even hosted a popular TV show, Superhit Muqabla, on DD2. Now, he’s still making music on YouTube, but his fun rap songs on Instagram are what everyone’s talking about.