Baba Sehgal said that he introduced AR Rahman and Mani Ratnam to music label Magnasound and in return made them give him a song in Roja.
Baba Sehgal was one of the first rap artists from India in the 1990s who actually made a career out of his music. In the early 1990s, Baba's rap music cassettes were hugely popular and he was one of the first people to have his own music video. It was in this era that Baba somehow made his way intoAR Rahman'sstudio and actually sang for him but as per rapper's own admission, this was his “first and last song” with Rahman.
In a recent interview on the YouTube channel Timeout With Ankit, Baba recalled that he met AR Rahman and Mani Ratnam in Chennai at one of Baba's concerts. The composer and director were looking to release the music album of Roja in Hindi and it was Baba who put them in touch with the music label, Magnasound.
Baba said that as part of the negotiation, he put forth a condition. The condition stated that Baba will sing at least one song in Hindi album of Roja. “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. The song was “Rukmani Rukmani.”
Baba said that he found the lyrics to be “kameene type ke” so when he actually got the lyrics to sing, he was quite shocked. The music company then told him that he wished for the song, so now he will have to sing it. Baba said that to this day, he does remix versions of this song in his concerts.
