In the 1990s, Baba Sahgal almost single-handedly invented nonsense rap, replacing the political aspects of the original form with ridiculous lyrics that could, if you insisted, be interpreted as a scathing indictment of the shallowness of modern living.
Or, more likely, as arbitrarily rhyming lines sung to a rap rhythm, as evident in the pathbreaking Aaja Mere Gaadi Mein Baith Jaa. His stock has been on the wane in the 21st century, but he has made periodic attempts to regain centrestage, often using twitter to remind us he exists.
And now he’s dropping viral odes to food dishes. (While, of course, making a subtle case for a specific brand.)
Here, he raps about chilli “chizza,” a dish that Sahgal has happily replaced pizza with – and that conveniently rhymes with Ibiza.
Just a few months ago, he had rapped O My Lovely Pizza, running on the beach and dancing with the staff of a hotel he had visited, while a row of camels occasionally bobbed their heads.
“I love food. My songs actually come from the dinner table.”
— Baba Sehgal in an interview to "The Hindustan Times Brunch"
We’re not sure if the songs make you hungry, but the amount of stock and even tangentially connected footage definitely makes you wonder. Take the music video of Chicken Fried Rice, which is rapped against a background of, among other things, a restaurant that appears to be rotating on top of a building.
Rajma Chawal, the well-known dish in many North Indian households, exhibits trumpet players in Christmas hats and young people partying in a dance club. Wait, is that Capitol Hill in the background?
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