Hanumankind

Who is Hanumankind?

Hanumankind — the stage name of rapper Sooraj Cherukat — is one of the most exciting names in global hip hop, an Indian artist who broke through internationally with the 2024 viral juggernaut "Big Dawgs". Blending hard-hitting Southern hip hop with an unmistakably Indian identity, he has rapidly become a crossover star, lending his rapid-fire flow to the 2025 Bollywood collaboration "Ez-Ez" from Dhurandhar.

Early life and global upbringing

Born on 17 October 1992 in Kondotty, in Kerala's Malappuram district, Sooraj Cherukat had an unusually international childhood. Because of his father's work with an oil company, he lived in Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Egypt, Qatar and Italy before the family settled in Houston, Texas, around his second-grade years. That globe-spanning upbringing — and especially his formative years in Houston — would deeply shape his music.

Musical style and influences

Hanumankind's sound is rooted in the Southern hip hop he encountered during his years in Houston, filtered through the influence of contemporary greats like Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole and Logic. He blends hip hop and R&B, pairing dense, technical lyricism with a commanding delivery, and consciously bridges his Indian heritage with a globally fluent rap sensibility — a combination that gives his music a distinctive cross-cultural edge.

Breakthrough with "Big Dawgs"

His breakout came in July 2024 with "Big Dawgs", featuring producer Kalmi. The accompanying music video — directed by Bijoy Shetty, filmed in Kerala and built around the carnival "well of death" motorcycle stunt — became a global sensation. A remix later featured American rapper ASAP Rocky, underscoring the track's international reach and Hanumankind's arrival on the world stage.

Chart success and achievements

"Big Dawgs" was a genuine global hit, reaching number three in India, number nine in Australia and Canada, and number 23 on the US Billboard Hot 100 — a rare feat for an Indian rapper. The track earned 3× Platinum certification in Canada and Silver in the UK. In July 2025 he released his debut mixtape, Monsoon Season, consolidating his status as one of the most closely watched artists in contemporary hip hop.

A distinctive identity

Part of Hanumankind's appeal is how deliberately he fuses worlds. His very stage name nods to Indian mythology while his sound is unmistakably global, and his videos and imagery frequently draw on Indian settings and motifs rather than hiding them. That refusal to choose between his roots and his international influences gives his music a striking originality, and has made him a figurehead for a new, globally confident generation of Indian hip hop that no longer treats the West as the only stage worth playing.

Building on the breakthrough

Rather than being defined by a single viral hit, Hanumankind kept his momentum with further high-profile releases through 2025, including widely streamed singles and his Monsoon Season mixtape, alongside a growing presence on major festival stages. That steady output, paired with collaborations that reach across genres and industries — culminating in the Bollywood crossover of "Ez-Ez" — has positioned him as far more than a one-song phenomenon.

Bollywood crossover and "Ez-Ez"

Hanumankind's collaboration with Diljit Dosanjh on "Ez-Ez" for Dhurandhar (2025) marked a high-profile step into Hindi-film music. Composed by Shashwat Sachdev, with lyrics co-written by Hanumankind and Raj Ranjodh, the track paired one of India's biggest global pop-stars with its breakout rap export — a meeting of worlds billed as one of 2025's biggest collaborations.

Legacy in the making

Still early in a fast-rising career, Hanumankind has already done something rare: broken an Indian rapper into the global mainstream on his own terms. By fusing Southern hip hop with Indian identity and imagery, he has helped redraw the map of what Indian hip hop can be and how far it can travel — and his every release is now watched as a marker of the genre's global ascent. Where earlier generations of Indian rappers largely found audiences at home, Hanumankind has charted internationally and earned co-signs from major global artists, proving that an act rooted in India can compete at the very top of world hip hop. His move into Bollywood with "Ez-Ez" — without abandoning the credibility of his independent work — suggests an artist intent on expanding his reach across every stage available to him.