Who is Hanumankind? The Indian rapper who outshined Kendrick Lamar

`Big Dawgs,` is now at spot 9, way ahead of Lamar`s legendary diss track for Drake, `Not Like Us`

Sooraj Cherukat, going by the stage name Hanumankind, has slashed global records with his rap track ‘Big Dawgs' as it surpasses Kendrick Lamar's ‘Not Like Us' on Spotify's Global Chart. Kendrick's latest number aimed as a diss at fellow American rapper Drake became a global sensation as it clenched 100 million followers on YouTube; but lagged behind on the music streaming app Spotify.

With a meteoric rise recorded from his music video featuring complex stunts in 'Big Dawgs,' he has quickly gained international fame, debuting at number 57 on the US Billboard Hot 100. As of today, it held the 9th position on the Spotify Global Top 50 chart, surpassing Kendrick Lamar's 'Not Like Us' and Eminem's 'Houdini.'

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Hailing from Malappuram, Kerala, Cherukat released his first single 'Daily Dose' in his deput EP Kalari in 2019. Within 5 years, the rapper has shot to fame collaborating with fellow rappers like Yashraj and music producers Parimal Shais, Kalmi and more.

Spotify tells Midday, "Hanumankind has seen remarkable growth between July 9-31 on the music streaming app. His follower base has grown by 184 percent, while listeners have increased by a staggering 2240 percent. Moreover, their streams have grown by 4280 percent during this period."

His latest song achieved significant success, garnering 37 million streams on Spotify, going viral on TikTok with 111 million views, and receiving over 900,000 searches on Shazam. This success earned Hanumankind a spot on the cover of Spotify's Global Hip Hop Playlist and led to a signing with Capitol Records.

Spotify adds that, 83 percent of his listeners fall within the 18-34 age range, with a significant 35 percent concentration between 23-27 years. His music was listened to in these top markets - India, the USA, Canada, the UK and Germany, with Ernakulam, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai and Thrissur being the top cities.

Early life

Cherukat grew up in Houston, Texas, where he attended Houston Community College. In 2012, he returned to India and enrolled at PSG College in Coimbatore to study Business Administration. He completed an internship at Goldman Sachs in 2014 and later worked as an Operations Analyst at the company for over a year starting in 2017. Following this, he left Goldman Sachs to join BigCity Promotions as an Alliance & Partnership Specialist.

Cherukat created his stage name, 'Hanumankind,' by merging the Hindi word 'Hanuman' with the English word 'kind,' playing on the concept of 'humankind.'

His other popular tracks include ‘Genghis,' ‘Skyline,' ‘Damnson,' ‘Southside,' ‘Rush Hour,' among others. His style has been largely influenced by Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole and Logic which has solidified his position in Desi Indian hip hop.

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