The Indian rapper who surpassed Kendrick Lamar on the music charts.
In the video for "Big Dawgs," 31-year-old Sooraj Cherukat, known as Hanumankind, radiates boundless energy.
Filmed inside a maut ka kuan (well of death) - a thrilling spectacle where drivers perform gravity-defying stunts inside a massive wooden barrel - he moves energetically around the pit as motorcyclists speed past him.
The song, a collaboration with producer Kalmi Reddy and director Bijoy Shetty, has garnered over 132 million streams on Spotify and 83 million views on YouTube since its July release, propelling Cherukat to global stardom.
On the surface, Cherukat’s music follows the hip-hop tradition of delivering gritty stories of street life through explicit lyrics and raw narratives.
However, a deeper look reveals a rapper who uses his music to navigate his diverse identities.
Born in Kerala, southern India, Cherukat spent his childhood traveling across the globe, largely due to his father’s job with a major oil company, living in places like France, Nigeria, Egypt, and Dubai.
But it was during his formative years in Houston, Texas, that his musical journey truly began to take shape.
In Houston's hip-hop scene, cough syrup is the preferred drug, and its disorienting effects gave rise to the "screwed-up" remix style, where tracks are slowed down to mirror the syrup's impact.
Cherukat has often mentioned that his music subtly pays homage to Texas hip-hop legends like DJ Screw, UGK, Big Bun, and Project Pat, who he grew up listening to.
While their influence is evident in his rap, his style continued to evolve after he returned to India in 2021, following his decision to drop out of college.
He earned a business degree and worked at companies like Goldman Sachs before realizing it wasn’t his calling. That’s when he chose to fully commit to rapping, a passion he had previously pursued only part-time.
Much like his personal journey, Cherukat’s music reflects his effort to shed his cosmopolitan identity and reconnect with his Indian heritage.
His songs often boldly delve into the challenges of southern Indian street life, blending powerful vocal delivery with catchy rhythms. Occasionally, tabla beats and synthesizers enhance his verses.
"We got issues in our nation 'cause there's parties at war," he snarls in a track called "Genghis," which was filmed in the streets of Bengaluru, where he now resides.
In "Big Dawgs," Cherukat challenges the bling and luxury often seen in mainstream rap by forgoing flashy cars and instead highlighting small-town stuntmen who come from underprivileged backgrounds and practice a fading art form in India.
"These are the real risk-takers...Those are the big dogs, for real," he told Complex.
Despite the confrontational energy of his music gaining attention, it has also drawn criticism.
Some argue that his songs may not resonate as deeply with Indian listeners. Unlike many of his peers who rap in local languages, Cherukat performs in English, which might limit his appeal among non-English-speaking audiences.
Others criticize him for closely imitating Western artists and taking a superficial approach to his Indian identity.
"His music positions Indians and South Asians as serious players in the Western rap scene, which is great," said Abid Haque, a PhD student in New Jersey.
"But he sounds too much like an American rapper transplanted into the Indian scene. While the 'Big Dawgs' music video embraced an Indian aesthetic, the lyrics and music feel disconnected from an Indian reality," Haque added.
This duality seems to reflect Cherukat’s own understanding of his work.
On one hand, returning to India has helped him explore his sense of belonging: "I think it really shaped me as someone who never truly had a place to call home... and that influenced the way I perceive music, people, and culture," he told Complex.
But he also insists on seeing himself from a broader perspective: "I’m not an Indian rapper; I’m a rapper from India," he's said in previous interviews, explaining that he views himself as separate from the country’s thriving hip-hop scene.
The rapper has faced a wave of racist comments online due to his distinctive style. Some international listeners struggle to accept that he’s from India because he doesn’t fit their preconceived notions of how an Indian rapper should "look or sound." At the same time, his Indian audience criticizes him for similar reasons, wishing he adhered more closely to their expectations of Indian identity.
Yet, it’s precisely this lack of a fixed identity in his work that has won over his fans.
To them, he is a genre-defying street poet who has taken the classic hip-hop traditions he grew up with and infused them with fresh social commentary.
"He isn’t trying to cater to an Indian audience, and that’s evident in his music. He’s unapologetic about it," said Arnab Ghosh, a psychiatrist in Delhi who recently discovered Hanumankind through "Big Dawgs."
"When I listen to his music, it feels like it could come from anywhere in the world. That kind of universality is what appeals to me."
Overcoming the expectations of what a South Asian rapper should achieve and defining himself on his own terms might be Cherukat’s greatest success—and challenge.
As he once put it: "You keep certain things as your roots, but it’s up to you to adapt to the environment and go with the flow, as long as you don’t compromise on integrity."
By : SAM❤️
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