Dr. Rajkumar’s song ‘If You Come Today’ gets a hip-hop twist, courtesy rapper Gubbi
If you are from Bengaluru, you know the classic hit, ‘If You Come Today’. Sung by Dr. Rajkumar in 1978, it is considered to be the first-ever English song in a Kannada film. After 48 years, it is back with a new, regional pop iteration by Bengaluru-based rapper Karthik Gubbi. Originally featured in the thriller film Operation Diamond Racket (1978), the song was then composed by GK Venkatesh.
In a new collaboration between Gubbi, Nandith Jaisimha of Studio 080 and Saregama Kannada, a revised version titled ‘If You Come Today 2.0’ was released on October 8 and recently crossed a million views on YouTube. The sampling and composition were done by SYNKFLO production, blending traditional Indian music with electronic grooves. “This one is for the people; it is an extension of the existing song and a tribute to its ideation,” says Gubbi.
The visuals used for its video follow the plot of Operation Diamond Racket., following the well-established James Bond style plot. As a bilingual rap number in English and Kannada, the lyrics were written by Gubbi after listening to the original version multiple times. Having decided on the original song, Gubbi and his team then gravitated towards making a pop song instead of one in his usual rap style.
This is the second collaboration between Gubbi and Nandith after ‘Yerd Plate Dose’, a Kannada rap song released earlier this year. Nandith has been deeply associated with the city’s hip-hop revival movement and believes that with present-day resources and venue choices, there are a lot of opportunities for independent artistes. “Right now, if you ask me, hip-hop is at its peak and has made a comeback with more people accepting it and everyone knows hip-hop nowadays.” Gubbi has also rapped for various south Indian films including Old Monk and Dear Comrade in Kannada and for the Oke Oka Jeevitham teaser.
Gubbi explains the process of “sampling” music to remix it for hip-hop. “We take segments of the original song which can be used in loops, and add beats on top of it. The final touch includes adding the rap over it.” In the present-times and cinema influences, This process is also referred to as remixing. When this project came to them, Saregama, the music company, gave the artistes the creative freedom to present the song in their own style.
“They did not constraint us in any way.”. And this they believe, resulted in a successful track. “World hip-hop is gravitating towards melody. There is reggaeton and disco too. That is what we have incorporated into this song; most of it is in reggaeton, while the hook is disco.” The video stars Gubbi alongside actress Nithya Shri. The dance crew who play the role of diamond robbers are from the OGX crew and the visual execution was directed by Niranjan Kumar.
If You Come Today 2.0 is released by Saregama Kannada. For more details visit YouTube.com
