August 2025
Not monkeying around
Holding on to his roots like a warm blanket, hanumankind is set to
take the world by storm, chaperoned by
his South Indian heritage. performing
at Coachella 2025 for the first time,
his child-like joy revealed a pureness
so rarely seen in an industry where the exaggerated confidence and polish of artists are as real as the
Beelzebubs of haute couture.
Hanuman, the agile God of courage, strength and self-discipline, is known
by spiritual seekers as the monkey God. Hanuman essentially means' broken jaw'. The Hindu deity is said to have sustained the injury after a fall which served as a profound
lesson to him. Unsure of Hanumankind's reason for including it in his stage name, the
qualities of Hanuman, make the play on words an interesting one.
Discovering him through one of Chakabars' posts on Instagram was timely and
needed. With hate constantly turning the spotlight on different communities willy nily, Hanumankind's emergence kindles bouyant comments about India with
global fans endorsing him and Indian hip-hop .
Looking at him, "He's got it" is an immediate thought.
What is the "it"?
The ability to influence, sway and lead millions. The ability to carry a conspicuous gleam that will take up spaces with no hint of diffidence and with what may come across as little effort.
The ability to convince record labels that you are worth the investment and risk
and fans, the time and attention.
Listening to him, many influences drive his compositions with a carapace
of uniqueness. His latest album is playful, experimental and well-produced
while addressing issues with hammer and tongs. Recruiting Indians on his productions
is what sets him apart. Probably having history with many of them, they are clearly
his devoted entourage as he ascends hip-hop.
Unmistakebaly artistic and unusual, it will take some time before he reaches
'Kendrick Lamar' status. Which forces the questions:
What type of contract does he have to agree to first?
How much of his soul does he have to sell?
Keeping fingers crossed that God leads, Hanumankind is definitely a special one.
The struggles he has faced are akin to Black rappers, so his music will
connect with any listener as the world plummets into more chaos and distraction. This
is what music must do. Bridge, fuse, adapt and look back to say "thank you".
Hanumankind does that. He is consistent and ever-grateful to the
masters who have led the way.
Recognising that we have not the heard the best of him yet, we simultaneously accept
that we cannot overlook the fact that his nascency seems questionable.
With him moving so quickly to Coachella and more recently, Tudum, it arouses
another question:
Is he CIA-backed?
A genre that is a tool for the CIA, we can say 'yes'.
Through scrutiny, we can verify that artists may not know who they are dealing with
in entirety. Where they stand, they cannot see, so may not know who is truly funding their project by dint of large music labels.
With Mahavir's courage and guidance and the Black nod, however, 'he'll be aight'.