With a head full of curls and his distinct Project-Pat-inspired flow, Sooraj Cherukat – better known by his moniker Hanumankind (HMK) brought his OTW (On The Way) tour to Singapore on May 13.
The intimate setting of Foo Chow stadium cocooned the spirit of the night, as the rapper repeatedly expressed pride in his Indian and, specifically, Malayali roots, a sentiment that deeply resonated with the largely Indian crowd. In that moment, his stage name, a portmanteau of the Hindu monkey-god ‘Hanuman’ and ‘humankind’, felt fitting. From the outset, HMK made it clear that the night would be stripped back with no bells and whistles.
“Tonight it’s just going to be me, this microphone and you guys. Is that good with you?” he asked. The crowd was more than good with that.
This marks the 33-year-old’s second attempt at touring after tearing his ACL during a show in London last year – an injury that forced him off stage for a period before making his return, which he did with aplomb.
If HMK is still “on the way” like the name of his tour suggests, one cannot deny that he has already crossed several milestones on the road to stardom. After steadily building a loyal fanbase in his home city of Bangalore, the rapper broke into the mainstream with “Big Dawgs,” a stadium-ready anthem that sprinted up the charts.
Backed by Singapore’s own Yung Raja and booming production from collaborator Parimal Shais, HMK stormed onto the stage to WWE wrestler Undertaker’s entrance song, wearing a Supreme jersey, which came off halfway through the night. On his first visit to Singapore, HMK spoke about how surreal the moment felt: “Just a couple of boys (him and Parimal) from the south side of India who never thought we’d perform here,” he said.
It was evident that he was still settling into his newfound status as rap’s latest breakout star, carefully gauging whether the audience knew songs beyond his viral hits. Throughout the set, he offered humble disclaimers. “You may not know these songs, or the lyrics, but I have to perform the songs that brought me where I am today,” he said, before launching into ‘Genghis’.
Even if the crowd did not know every lyric to every song, it hardly mattered. Everyone was dancing to his tunes – quite literally.
However, when it came to Big Dawgs and Run It Up, the crowd’s reactions shifted gears. When the latter came on, HMK climbed down to the barricades to perform shoulder-to-shoulder with fans. The crowd immediately surged towards him, screaming every word back as he rapped from within the sea of people, leaving him in tears.
The hour-long set featured a mix of tracks from his latest EP, Monsoon Season, alongside older fan favourites. Much to the disappointment of some attendees, however, HMK did not perform songs from the Bollywood hit film Dhurandhar, to which he lent his voice.
By the end of the set, chants of “one more song” echoed across the venue, but HMK admitted he did not have an encore prepared. Instead, in a gesture that arguably meant more to fans, he came down to the barricades and spent nearly half an hour meeting as many people as possible before finally calling it a night.
