Hanumankind’s music can evoke regional identity, solidarity and resistance without settling whether it is protest music. In a May 24, 2025 essay for Scroll.in, writers Aprajita Sarcar and Anand P Krishnan frame that tension as a paradox: they read the rapper’s work as drawing on Kerala’s pluralist society and folk traditions, while arguing that it does not engage sufficiently with politics on the ground. That is the essay’s interpretation—not a neutral consensus about the music or a claim about Hanumankind’s private beliefs.
What does “the paradox of anthems of resistance” mean?
The phrase comes from Sarcar and Krishnan’s critical essay, “The paradox of Malayali rapper Hanumankind’s anthems of resistance,” published by Scroll.in on May 24, 2025. Its subhead argues that his work reflects Kerala’s pluralist society and folk traditions but lacks “a genuine engagement with politics on the ground.” That pointed assessment belongs to the authors; it should not be mistaken for an established fact about the artist’s intentions.
The tension they identify is between what music can signify and what it demonstrably addresses. Cultural references, images of collective action and language of solidarity may invite a resistant reading. But, in the authors’ view, invoking those ideas is not the same as engaging the specific political conflicts they discuss. The question is therefore not simply whether a song sounds defiant, but what kind of resistance it names, whose experience it represents and how that representation relates to political power.
How does the essay read “Run It Up”?
Sarcar and Krishnan foreground “Run It Up,” including the use of chenda drummers at Coachella and references they associate with Kerala’s cultural traditions. They read the song as reaching toward global solidarity, decolonisation and cultural resistance. Those are the essay’s interpretive claims; regional imagery can contribute to that reading, but it does not by itself establish a single political meaning.
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The essay quotes hip-hop creator Scru Face Jean describing the track as “a marching song” and “a rebel song,” then calling it a protest song. His response shows how a listener can hear the song as an invitation to collective action even without knowing the specific issue being addressed. It is evidence of one listener’s interpretation, not proof that the song has one objectively settled meaning.
When cultural signals travel
The essay places the song within a Malayali and diasporic frame, reading references to selfhood, autonomy, food sovereignty, folk forms and multilingual expression as ways of carrying a local identity into global hip-hop. As music travels, however, those signs reach listeners with different histories and political contexts. A chenda performance can make a regional tradition visible on a global stage; it cannot, on its own, establish how the artist engages with local political struggles.
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This distinction helps explain why the essay’s critique is not simply a dispute over whether the music sounds forceful. A listener may hear solidarity in its imagery, while the authors ask whether that expressive force connects to the particular political realities they name. Those readings can coexist without proving what Hanumankind privately believes or intends.
Why does the essay connect the music to public politics?
Sarcar and Krishnan contrast their reading of “Run It Up” with the essay’s account of Hanumankind participating in an event honoring Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and of Modi later praising the song. The authors see those reported public associations as creating tension with the music’s resistance framing. That is their political critique, not evidence of Hanumankind’s private convictions or motives.
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The distinction matters: a public appearance or a politician’s praise can shape how music is received, but neither alone establishes an artist’s full political position. The essay’s point, as reported in its indexed text, is about the friction between the work’s associations with resistance and the public context in which it circulates. Specific event details should be treated as claims reported by the essay rather than as independently established here.
How does “Big Dawgs” fit into the discussion?
“Big Dawgs,” produced by Kalmi, was the breakout track that brought Hanumankind broad international attention. Billboard identifies the artist as Sooraj Cherukat, born in Kerala, and reported the following historical milestones in 2024:
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- Chart peak: No. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100, as reported by Billboard in 2024.
- U.S. streams: 72 million official on-demand streams through September 5, 2024, according to Luminate, as reported by Billboard.
- Global streams: 288.5 million official on-demand streams through September 5, 2024, according to Luminate, as reported by Billboard.
These are dated figures, not current totals. In Billboard’s account of the song’s sudden reach, Hanumankind said, “We’re hearing about this going crazy, but we can’t wrap our heads around [it].” He also reflected on the response to seeing an Indian music video: “American hip-hop makes the world react. But this is the first time a lot of people were like, ‘There’s this video coming out of India,’” he said.
That international circulation is relevant to the essay’s broader cultural question: what happens when a locally grounded identity enters a global music culture? “Big Dawgs” supplies context for Hanumankind’s expanded audience, but its popularity does not by itself settle the political interpretation of “Run It Up.”
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Are Hanumankind’s songs protest songs?
There is no single answer established by the available evidence. Scru Face Jean hears “Run It Up” as a protest song; Sarcar and Krishnan find resistance-oriented cultural signals but argue that the work falls short of genuine engagement with politics on the ground. Those are different kinds of interpretation, not a factual contradiction that can be resolved by a chart position or a performance image.
A careful reading keeps four questions distinct:
- Language and themes: What do the lyrics say about solidarity, identity or resistance?
- Imagery and performance: What do folk forms and stage or video choices evoke, and what can they not prove?
- Political context: How do public actions and associations affect reception, without being treated as a complete account of private belief?
- Circulation: How might regional references change meaning as music reaches global audiences?
These are interpretive lenses, not measured categories. They help explain the paradox without forcing a verdict that the evidence cannot support: cultural representation may be meaningful, and its political reach may still be contested.
Sources and scope
The central argument and quoted listener reaction are attributed to Sarcar and Krishnan’s May 24, 2025 Scroll.in essay. Billboard is the source for the biographical details, artist comments, chart peak and dated stream figures; the streams are attributed to Luminate as reported by Billboard. Spotify lists “Big Dawgs” as a 2024 single and “Run It Up” as a 2025 single, but its platform metrics change over time and are not treated here as fixed figures.
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