The Houston bred, Bangalore-based rapper returns with a powerful new single
“Run It Up” reunites Indian-American rap sensation Hanumankind with the team behind his viral hit “Big Dawgs,” the producer Kalmi and music video director Bijoy Shetty. That song earned RIAA platinum status in less than six months and ended 2024 as one of the Top 10 most streamed rap songs on Spotify. Now, on “Run It Up,” Hanumankind, also known as HMK, promises to go even further.
“There ain’t a person alive that be matching the vibe/And it honestly ain’t even fair,” he raps over intense drumming powered by the traditional chenda from the southwest Indian state of Kerala. “There ain’t a dude with the drive and the vision like I have unless I go look in the mirror, baby!” HMK announced that the full music video will premiere at 12:52 a.m. Eastern on March 7.
Born Sooraj Cherukat, Hanumankind was born in Kerala and spent his formative years in Houston before returning to India in 2012 to work at Goldman Sachs. He’s now signed to Def Jam India/Capitol Records and will make his Coachella debut next month. On his stage name, he told Rolling Stone, “I do like what the name Hanuman implies when it comes to the [Hindu] deity because he personifies honor, courage, and loyalty. He puts it all on his chest. From this side of the world, Hanuman is a name that so many people know. Even if you don’t hold the same path, everyone has seen it or heard it or is aware of it. It’s something that everyone can associate with being Indian. And mankind is the rest of the world. It was a combination of both things. To bring two things together in a way that ties into my purpose.”
