Music video
Development
The music video for "Big Dawgs",directed by Bijoy Shetty,was shot in Ponnani,Kerala in a well of death. [7] [8] According to creative director Bijoy Shetty,Cherukat initially proposed using cars and bikes in the video. Shetty was against this idea,believing it would blend in with other content and lack originality. This resistance led to a moment of inspiration:While Shetty was in a rickshaw;he heard a bike engine that resonated with the song's sample. Afterward,Shetty researched and conceptualized the video. Shetty remarked,"It was an idea that everybody had in their mind but never executed. It was an idea waiting to be done". [9] All of the framework was planned for the eventual filming which was done in one day;Cherukat experienced motion sickness after frequent riding on one of the stunt-cars. [10]
Synopsis
In the video,the opening screen displays a typical "Warning" message indicating that the stunts were performed by professionals and advising viewers not to attempt them. However,Hanumankind interrupts this warning by saying,"Hey,shut the fuck up",effectively dismissing the message. [11] The video cuts to Hanumankind standing at the edge of a well of death,surrounded by a group of stunt performers. As the song begins,the performers ride their motorcycles and drive a car around the well at high speeds. The performance scenes are interspersed with shots of the audience,who are mesmerized by the show. [2] [10]
Reception
"Big Dawgs" quickly gained international acclaim,debuting at number 57 on the US Billboard Hot 100. [12] The song has amassed over 400 million streams on Spotify and went viral on TikTok with 150 million views,and over 2,000,000 searches on Shazam. [13] [12] Its success led to Hanumankind being featured on the cover of Spotify's Global Hip Hop Playlist and signing with Capitol Records. [14] [15] Outside of India,the song peaked within the top ten in countries including Australia,Austria,Canada,Singapore,Switzerland,and Brazil.
Its viral fame was majorly helped by users of video platforms reacting to its audiovisuals for the first time;one of them from streamer Shaquille Davis notably praised its production,identifying Hanumankind's Texas rap influences as well as his fashion reminiscent of Freddie Mercury. [16] [10] Samaah Noor Sheikh,writing for The Print ,criticized the American streamer IShowSpeed for repeatedly asking "Why does he sound good?" in his reaction—"as if it was hard for him to believe that an Indian rapper could actually be good". Despite this,Sheikh acknowledged that IShowSpeed's reaction helped platform the Indian music scene. [17]
Some accused the song of ripping off the flow of American rapper Project Pat,although Hanumankind makes a direct reference to Project Pat in the lyrics. [18]
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