Before his breakout single Big Dawgs topped global charts, Indian rapper Hanumankind realised he had finally made it during a show in his home state of Kerala earlier this year.
“It was some kind of festival, and there were about 5,000 people in the audience,” he tells The National ahead of his Sunday performance at Sole DXB. "That was the first time my mum actually realised what I do.
“I remember she was taking it all in, seeing the fans and then she understood. The funny thing is that she immediately switched and told me: ‘You now have a responsibility in this world, and you shouldn’t take it for granted.’ I remember thinking: ‘Hold on, not long ago you were telling me I was being irresponsible for considering a life in music.’”
It is one of the many misconceptions 32-year-old Hanumankind, real name Sooraj Cherukat, continues to break as part of the surging career led by his single, which has more than 170 million streams on YouTube since October and topped Spotify’s Global Top 50 charts.
Born in India to an oil executive father, he spent parts of his childhood living in Dubai, Nigeria and Egypt before spending nearly a decade of his formative years in Houston, Texas – a region known for southern hip-hop.
While his cosmopolitan experiences were evident as early as his 2019 EP Kalari, they merge brilliantly in Big Dawgs. It’s a hip-hop anthem from a South Indian artist inspired by American southern hip-hop. An official remix of the hit was also released this week featuring US rapper A$AP Rocky.
Laced with a marauding trap beat and gritty synths, Hanumankind lets loose with buoyant, ego-boosting verses rapped in English with a southern drawl – “Straight terror, product of your errors / Pushing culture, baby, got that product you can't measure” – delivered in the kind of energetic inflexion that recalls the works of celebrated southern hip-hop heroes like UGK and Ying Yang Twins.
That affectionate nod, however, stops when it comes to the striking music video. Director Bijoy Shetty matches the whirring intensity of the track by setting the video within the "well of death", a feature of Indian carnivals where more than a dozen automobiles speed around a velodrome built of wood. Featuring professional drivers and stuntmen, Hanumankind is shown rapping some of the lyrics while suspended from a car window.
“We wanted an intense and ferocious video, but you never really know how it will be received,” he says. “And to be honest, it took about a week after the video came out to realise that the song was being received in a way that was out of the norm. Before releasing it, we thought: ‘This is a cool music video, but we have better stuff in the vault.’ But the world felt differently.”
The success, he notes, reaffirmed a life lesson he plans to double down on as the demands of his career intensify.
“It really taught me about the importance of care and intention,” he notes. “It made me realise that while I may get caught up in the craft of what I do, I need to keep telling myself not to be distracted and to focus on how I can make what I’m doing even better.”
It is the kind of reflection that comes from an experienced artist. Despite the breakout success of Big Dawgs, which cracked the top 30 of the US Billboard Hot 100 as well as topping charts from Australia to Latvia, the song is actually Hanumankind’s 12th single released in five years. Its central message of overcoming adversity is also a theme first explored in his debut 2019 single Daily Dose.
“It is a personal subject to me and one that invigorates me and my thought process,” he says. “My approach to life is to keep going and take what belongs to you through actions and not words. We just can’t stand by and let forces around us compel us into living a certain way of life or being a particular way.”
Hanumankind’s remarks allude to the weary notion that Big Dawgs’ success could finally propel Indian hip-hop into becoming an international force. It also shows he has embraced the kind of responsibility his mother demanded of him backstage in Kerala.
“It’s not that simple because there are still barriers, whether it’s at home or outside of India, when it comes to hip-hop reaching that level,” he says. "I’m never one to say that if I did it, then anyone can.
“I would say perspectives have slightly shifted in terms of the great hip-hop music that is already there in India, and people are more receptive to cool music. But at the same time, we as artists need to work hard and take extra care with our craft.
"The music industry has no leniency, and people should never expect that things will be easier for them because another similar artist found success in a certain way. You need to keep grinding.”
Hanumankind will perform on Sunday at Sole DXB. The festival runs from Friday to Sunday at Dubai Design District. Day passes start at Dh295; doors open at 3pm
Zayed Sustainability Prize
The Uefa Awards winners
Uefa Men's Player of the Year: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Uefa Women's Player of the Year: Lucy Bronze (Lyon)
Best players of the 2018/19 Uefa Champions League
Goalkeeper: Alisson (Liverpool)
Defender: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Midfielder: Frenkie de Jong (Ajax)
Forward: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Uefa President's Award: Eric Cantona
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
match details
Wales v Hungary
Cardiff City Stadium, kick-off 11.45pm
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more from Janine di Giovanni
No more lice
Defining head lice
Pediculus humanus capitis are tiny wingless insects that feed on blood from the human scalp. The adult head louse is up to 3mm long, has six legs, and is tan to greyish-white in colour. The female lives up to four weeks and, once mature, can lay up to 10 eggs per day. These tiny nits firmly attach to the base of the hair shaft, get incubated by body heat and hatch in eight days or so.
Identifying lice
Lice can be identified by itching or a tickling sensation of something moving within the hair. One can confirm that a person has lice by looking closely through the hair and scalp for nits, nymphs or lice. Head lice are most frequently located behind the ears and near the neckline.
Treating lice at home
Head lice must be treated as soon as they are spotted. Start by checking everyone in the family for them, then follow these steps. Remove and wash all clothing and bedding with hot water. Apply medicine according to the label instructions. If some live lice are still found eight to 12 hours after treatment, but are moving more slowly than before, do not re-treat. Comb dead and remaining live lice out of the hair using a fine-toothed comb.
After the initial treatment, check for, comb and remove nits and lice from hair every two to three days. Soak combs and brushes in hot water for 10 minutes.Vacuum the floor and furniture, particularly where the infested person sat or lay.
Courtesy Dr Vishal Rajmal Mehta, specialist paediatrics, RAK Hospital
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Winners
Best Men's Player of the Year: Kylian Mbappe (PSG)
Maradona Award for Best Goal Scorer of the Year: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
TikTok Fans’ Player of the Year: Robert Lewandowski
Top Goal Scorer of All Time: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
Best Women's Player of the Year: Alexia Putellas (Barcelona)
Best Men's Club of the Year: Chelsea
Best Women's Club of the Year: Barcelona
Best Defender of the Year: Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus/Italy)
Best Goalkeeper of the Year: Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG/Italy)
Best Coach of the Year: Roberto Mancini (Italy)
Best National Team of the Year: Italy
Best Agent of the Year: Federico Pastorello
Best Sporting Director of the Year: Txiki Begiristain (Manchester City)
Player Career Award: Ronaldinho
WWE Evolution results
- Trish Stratus and Lita beat Alicia Fox and Mickie James in a tag match
- Nia Jax won a battle royal, eliminating Ember Moon last to win
- Toni Storm beat Io Shirai to win the Mae Young Classic
- Natalya, Sasha Banks and Bayley beat The Riott Squad in a six-woman tag match
- Shayna Baszler won the NXT Women’s title by defeating Kairi Sane
- Becky Lynch retained the SmackDown Women’s Championship against Charlotte Flair in a Last Woman Standing match
- Ronda Rousey retained the Raw Women’s title by beating Nikki Bella
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More on animal trafficking
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
The years Ramadan fell in May
The bio
Favourite vegetable: Broccoli
Favourite food: Seafood
Favourite thing to cook: Duck l'orange
Favourite book: Give and Take by Adam Grant, one of his professors at University of Pennsylvania
Favourite place to travel: Home in Kuwait.
Favourite place in the UAE: Al Qudra lakes
Yahya Al Ghassani's bio
Date of birth: April 18, 1998
Playing position: Winger
Clubs: 2015-2017 – Al Ahli Dubai; March-June 2018 – Paris FC; August – Al Wahda
'Munich: The Edge of War'
Director: Christian Schwochow
Starring: George MacKay, Jannis Niewohner, Jeremy Irons
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
World Test Championship table
1 India 71 per cent
2 New Zealand 70 per cent
3 Australia 69.2 per cent
4 England 64.1 per cent
5 Pakistan 43.3 per cent
6 West Indies 33.3 per cent
7 South Africa 30 per cent
8 Sri Lanka 16.7 per cent
9 Bangladesh 0
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Western Region Asia Cup T20 Qualifier
Sun Feb 23 – Thu Feb 27, Al Amerat, Oman
The two finalists advance to the Asia qualifier in Malaysia in August
Group A
Bahrain, Maldives, Oman, Qatar
Group B
UAE, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia
UAE group fixtures
Sunday Feb 23, 9.30am, v Iran
Monday Feb 25, 1pm, v Kuwait
Tuesday Feb 26, 9.30am, v Saudi
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza, Rohan Mustafa, Alishan Sharafu, Ansh Tandon, Vriitya Aravind, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmed, Karthik Meiyappan, Basil Hameed, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Ayaz, Zahoor Khan, Chirag Suri, Sultan Ahmed
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
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Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
