This summer, a new rapper burst onto the scene, shocking and wooing audiences by flying in the face of their expectations with his rebellious spirit. Indian rapper Hanumankind doesn’t look like what a lot of people immediately picture when they think of what a rapper is (despite hip-hop already having its fair share of South Asian MCs like Heems, Riz Ahmed, Utkarsh Ambudkar, and more), so when his buzzy “Big Dawgs” video hit social media feeds in June, he became an “instant” sensation (he’s been around since 2019, though). His profile looks like it’ll only grow thanks to a timely co-sign from ASAP Rocky, who joins him on the remix for “Big Dawgs,” adding in his own swaggering verse.
Take a step back, and Rocky’s presence here makes perfect sense. Like Rocky’s early work with ASAP Mob, “Big Dawgs” wears its influences on its sleeve, and many of those influences are the same ones that informed Rocky’s goth-trap flow in 2011: Memphis vets like Project Pat, whose tip-toe delivery Hanumankind apes (sorry) on “Big Dawgs.” Meanwhile, the harsh, distorted buzzsaw of a beat taps into the raw sounds that Rocky’s been fond of lately; the aggressive energy makes them perfect partners in turning up and getting down.
Listen to Hanumankind’s “Big Dawgs (Remix)” with ASAP Rocky above.