It's pop-star Baba Sehgal's birthday today. As the rapper, who won everyone's heart for his quirky lyrics and unique songs in the 90s, turns a year older, we look back at his journey in pictures!
Updated On: 2020-11-23 10:22 AM IST
The era of the 1990s saw an upsurge in private albums, pop music to be precise, thanks to him and songs like 'Aaj Meri Gaadi Mein Baith Ja', 'Thanda Thanda Pani', 'Dil Dhadke', among others. Baba Sehgal, who became popular as the king of 'Desi Rap', was born on November 23, 1965. (All photos/Baba Sehgal's official Instagram account, AFP and mid-day archives)
Baba Sehgal, who hails from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, was born as Harjit Singh Sehgal. He could well be credited for introducing Hindi rap to the Indian audience in the '90s.
While Baba Sehgal's pop music was a rage back in the 90s, he never really got along with the Hindi film industry. "I'm not made for Bollywood. Bollywood has never gotten along with me. It's always been a little scared and insecure. Before 'Thanda thanda paani', I had gone to Bappi Lahiri's bungalow to give him my cassette. He heard my song and said it's nice, I will call you when it's time. I used to wonder how will you call me when you don't have my number. Bappiji's father was alive then, and he was a very nice person. He was like how all fathers are... He used to feel no artiste should go hungry from their home. This was a special trait of Bappiji's family. Whenever you go there, you return with your stomach full which was such an amazing thing," said the pop-star.
Like most of today's rap artists, Baba Sehgal also faced tough times. He belonged to a middle-class family and wanted to travel to Delhi to make a career. He toiled hard and survived for three decades in the industry, not because he followed a trend, but because he created one. "If you rap like others do, you won't go too far. Artistes will talk about being poor, lament over what people did to them, then throw in some abuses, and then what? You have to evolve. The gully boys rapping now need to get out of their mould," says Sehgal.
His whole process of creating music starts from writing. Baba Sehgal is a lyricist first before a performer. After writing, he composed and then preps for performing. He is a sound engineer also, and therefore, enjoys the production part as well. But ultimately it is the music. "I also enjoy acting but I am a musician first," says Baba.
Baba Sehgal also tried his hands in acting. He has a couple of Hindi film roles to his credit, viz, My Friend Ganesha 3 (2010) and Miss 420 (1998). He was also seen in multiple films down south like Achcham Enbadhu Madamaiyada (2016), Sahasam Swasaga Sagipo (2015), Rudramadevi (2015). His was last seen in Bollywood film Helicopter Eela (2018).
In the 2000s, Baba Sehgal took a sabbatical of sorts. "Pop became paap," said Baba Sehgal, adding, "At first, Magnasound had come up with various Pop albums and companies such as Tips and Venus joined in. Later they realised it was too time-consuming and they weren't making enough money. So the music died too. People moved on and we didn't have digital media. Bollywood became Pop music."
However, Baba made a smashing comeback with his witty tweets and music videos on Youtube including songs like "Chicken Fried Rice" in 2015. For this revival, he credited Twitter.
This sabbatical though was only from the Hindi music scene, as he kept himself busy singing and acting in several films down south. One of the pioneers of rap music in India in the 1990s, Baba Sehgal says numerous Indian rappers have emerged in recent times like Yo Yo Honey Singh but the current crop are self-obsessed and rap only about themselves.
"Rapping hasn't been explored in a big way in India. The rappers here only talk about themselves, or they talk about their cars or their horses," said Baba, further adding that the so-called rap songs have excessive usage of "bandook" (guns) and "kudiyan" (girls).
Before he returned to the limelight through the Internet, Baba Sehgal had been creating music down south. He worked in several Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films and is very popular in the South. They call him 'Power Singer' there. "I have fans whose parents are worried because they've shaved their heads and wear balis (earrings), like me," said Baba Sehgal.
Defining his music today, Baba Sehgal says "It's pure Rap", adding, "You don’t make a Rap song by adding words like party, baby and alcohol. It’s an expression of yourself. I like to eat baigan ka bharta and chicken fried rice; you don’t have to eat shrimp to look cool."
