Hanumankind | |
|---|---|
| Hanumankind in 2025 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | HMK, HMKOTW |
| Born | Sooraj Cherukat 17 October 1992 Malappuram, Kondotty, Kerala, India |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2018–present |
| Musical career | |
| Origin | Kerala, India |
| Genres | |
| Labels | |
Sooraj Cherukat (born 17 October 1992), [1] [2] known professionally as Hanumankind, is a rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor from Kerala, India. [3] [4] He released his first single "Daily Dose" from his debut EP Kalari in 2019. [5] He received mainstream popularity in India and internationally with his track "Big Dawgs", which features the Hyderabad-based artist and producer Kalmi and American rapper ASAP Rocky on its remix. He acted in the 2024 Malayalam film, Rifle Club , directed by Aashiq Abu.
Sooraj Cherukat was born in 1992, in Malappuram, Kondotty, Kerala, India. [6] [2] His father works for a leading oil company, as a result he moved around a lot. [7] [8] As a child, Cherukat lived in Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Egypt, Qatar, and Italy before settling down in Houston, Texas when he was in second grade. [7] [9] [6] He attended Houston Community College. [10] In 2012, he returned to India enrolling at PSG College in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu to pursue a degree in business administration. [7] [2] He worked at Goldman Sachs in 2014, and also as a personal trainer. [11] [8]
Cherukat officially began his career as a professional rapper by performing at NH7 Weekender, which is held in multiple cities and releasing his debut EP Kalari, in 2019. [12] Before the release of Kalari, he had released a mixtape consisting of him rapping on YouTube beats, called the 959 Mixtape on Soundcloud and a single "Super Mario", where he rapped over a beat which sampled the video game Super Mario's soundtrack in 2018. The name Hanumankind is a portmanteau of the Hindu deity Hanuman and "mankind". [11]
Cherakut released his sophomore EP, Surface Level, in 2020 [13] , which was succeeded by the release of some singles, such as "DAMNSON", "Genghis", "Go To Sleep" [14] , as well as collaborations, like "THAT'S A FACT" and "Enemies" with Yashraj. [15] [16]
He collaborated with Charan Raj and Sanjith Hegde for the song "Maadeva" featuring on the Kannada movie Popcorn Monkey Tiger . [17]
His song "The Last Dance" is featured on the official soundtrack for the Malayalam-language film Aavesham . [18]
He gained widespread recognition both with the release of the single and its music video "Big Dawgs", featuring Kalmi, in July 2024. [19] [20] The accompanying music video directed by Bijoy Shetty, features Cherukat performing in a classic carnival attraction with motorcycles known as the well of death. The video was shot in Ponnani, his hometown district in Kerala state in India. [21] [11]
He also acted in the 2024 Malayalam film, Rifle Club , directed by Aashiq Abu. [22] In 2025, he released his song "Run It Up", which features chenda drums in its instrumental, [23] [24] and performed the song at Netflix's 2025 Tudum event. [25] He performed the single "Holiday" on the Colors Show [26] and headlined the "OTW Tour" in support of his debut mixtape, Monsoon Season, in the summer of 2025. [27] Monsoon Season released on July 25, 2025, featuring guest appearances from Denzel Curry, Roisee, ASAP Rocky, Rudy Mukta and Maxo Kream and production from longtime collaborators Parimal Shais and Kalmi. [28] On November 22, 2025, Cherukat made his second appearance at Rolling Loud in his home country, India, where he performed alongside other notable names within the music scene and industry; it was also his first headlining Rolling Loud performance. [29]
While living in Houston, Cherukat was exposed to Southern hip hop and listened to artists like Chamillionaire, Three 6 Mafia, Project Pat, UGK, and DJ Screw. He is also a fan of System of a Down. [11] His musical style is significantly influenced by Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, and Logic. [11]
As of July 2025, Cherukat lives in Bengaluru. [24] Cherukat is not religious. [6]
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Monsoon Season [30] |
|
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Kalari [31] |
|
| Surface Level [13] |
|
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IND [32] | AUS [33] | CAN [34] | GER [35] | IRE [36] | NZ [37] | SWI [38] | UK [39] | US [40] | WW [41] | ||||
| "Super Mario" [42] | 2018 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | |
| "Daily Dose" [31] | 2019 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Kalari | |
| "S.L.A.B" [31] | 2020 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | |
| "Options" [31] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Beer and Biryani" [31] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Genghis" [31] | 2021 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Damnson" [31] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Skyline" [31] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Lola's Chant" (with Kalmi) [31] | 2022 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Third Eye Freeverse (Red Bull 64 Bars)" [31] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Go To Sleep" [31] | 2023 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Ayyayyo" [31] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Big Dawgs" (with Kalmi, remixed by ASAP Rocky) [31] | 2024 | 3 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 30 | 2 | 9 | 15 | 23 | 9 | Monsoon Season | |
| "Run It Up" (with Kalmi) [31] | 2025 | — | — | — | — | — | — [A] | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Holiday" [31] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Villainous Freestyle" [31] [30] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| Tangents (Arshaq Malik, 47K ft. Hanumankind) [47] | 2019 | Joint Custody |
| Pharmaceutical (Parimal Shais ft. Hanumankind) [48] | Kumari Kandam Traps, Vol.1 | |
| 9 (Lojal ft. Hanumankind) [49] | 2020 | Phase |
| Namma Stories (Arivu, SIRI, Hanumankind, NJ, Kartik Shah) [50] | 2021 | Non-album single |
| THAT'S A FACT (Yashraj, Hanumankind) [15] | 2023 | LADKE CONVICT |
| Enemies (KSHMR, Yashraj, Hanumankind) [16] | KARAM | |
| Victory Lap Five (Fred Again, Skepta, PlaqueBoyMax, Denzel Curry, That Mexican OT, Hanumankind, D Double E, LYNY) [51] | 2025 | USB |
| Don't Look Down (Ed Sheeran, Hanumankind, Dhee, Santhosh Narayanan) [52] | Play (The Remixes) | |
| Year | Film | Song | Performer(s) | Composer(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Popcorn Monkey Tiger | "Maadeva" | Charan Raj, Hanumankind, Sanjith Hegde | Charan Raj | [17] |
| 2023 | Kuttey | "Ek Aur Dhan Te Nan" | Jyoti Nooran, Hanumankind | Vishal Bhardwaj, Gulzar, Hanumankind | |
| 2024 | Aavesham | "The Last Dance" | Hanumankind | Sushin Shyam | [53] |
| Squid Game | "The Game Don't Stop" | Hanumankind | Hanumankind, Kalmi, Parimal Shais | [25] | |
| 2025 | Dhurandhar | "Dhurandhar Title Track" | Hanumankind, Jasmine Sandlas, Shashwat Sachdev | Shashwat Sachdev, Charanjit Ahuja | |
| "Ez-Ez" | Hanumankind, Diljit Dosanjh | Shashwat Sachdev, Raj Ranjodh, Hanumankind | [54] |
| Year | Film | Role | Language | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Por | Student | Tamil | Guest appearance | |
| Rifle Club | Bheera Bare | Malayalam | [22] |