Hanumankind Should Be a XXL Freshman

Welcome to Golden Dragon, a newsletter by Eric Diep about Asians in hip-hop and my takes on trending topics in AAPI pop culture. Golden Dragon is a rotation of interviews, reviews, news, critical perspectives, and random blogs about music I recommend.

• XXL announced fan voting for the 10th spot on this year’s XXL Freshman list. I campaign for Hanumankind.

• An album review of Yudes’ Fu Lai.

• Diep Cuts featuring Jackson Wang, Seiji Oda & Warren Hue, Eric Reprid, and Parlay Pass.

• Send It: The Baby Goat podcast hosted by Jonnie Park and Andrea Jin is live.

It’s that time of the year again.

The 2025 XXL Freshman list and its preceding cover are releasing this summer, setting rap fans up for another heated debate on relevancy, how outdated the list looks, and if XXL got it right. The voting period for this year’s 10th spot was open from Monday, April 21, to Sunday, April 27.  The 10th spot is usually for fans who get to vote for their favorite artists, and the winner with the most votes gets nominated as a Freshman. Previous winners were Iggy Azalea, Dizzy Wright, Jarren Benton, Lil Yachty, XXXTentacion, Blueface, 24kGoldn, DDG, BabyTron, DC the Don, and Skilla Baby.

Some 10th spot winners were highly questionable, like Kidd Kidd, who, despite being selected, had a whole career with Lil Wayne (“Mrs. Officer”). Lil Skies reportedly won the 10th spot, but turned it down, claiming the list was rigged. The magazine also used to do XXL Freshman pitches, which made it pretty easy to tell who was going to make it and who was going to get cut. I still don’t know why the magazine doesn’t just share the final results of this poll. 

Scrolling through this year’s 10th spot selections, Hanumankind caught my eye. Hailing originally from Kerala, India, by way of Houston, Hanumankind was a breakout star after releasing “Big Dawgs” in 2024.

Where he’s at in his career would make him a perfect Freshman because he’s just getting started and on the cusp of something bigger after releasing “Big Dawgs” and “Run It Up.” Plus, Hanumankind would be the first South Asian rapper to grace the cover, staying on trend with documenting the rapid changes in hip-hop. In the past, the magazine has introduced R&B when the lines were being blurred, spotlighted more women, and featured rappers from the UK, like Stefflon Don and Central Cee.

For fun, I’m going to spend this week’s newsletter campaigning for Hanumankind, using the same criteria from when I was part of the decision process many years ago. I’m sure this has changed completely from back when I was doing research, taking label meetings, and listening to unreleased music with a rapper and their team at the XXL office. I’ve broken it down into five parts:

• No major label debut out yet

• Age

• Strong social media and streaming numbers

• Industry buzz

• Impact

Even if he gets voted out of the 10th spot, he deserves to be on it. Let’s start with the first and go through it.

No major label debut out yet. This requirement should have an asterisk because rappers may not have an album out yet, but they have plenty of projects, mixtapes that sound like albums, and EPs with seven songs or more. I think this restriction loosened a bit when rappers started using the Freshman cover as part of the rollout for their album. Before Hanumankind’s Coachella debut, Rolling Stone reported he was going to drop a mixtape, which technically isn’t a debut. He’s signed to Def Jam India and Capitol Records, so I’m hoping this stands and he drops a debut after he makes Freshman.

Age. Most rap fans call out XXL when older rappers make the list. When you think of Freshman, they’re usually younger artists and in their early stages of their careers. But hip-hop has changed so much that rappers are having their moments later in life. Jay-Z was 26 when he dropped Reasonable Doubt. Boldy James, who is in his 40s, is just now getting his praise for his reality street raps. Hanumankind is 32 years old, so he would technically be part of the “older Freshman” class.

Strong social media and streaming numbers. Before I break down his numbers, I’ll say this is always the most contentious topic when picking a Freshman. Strong social media numbers are part of the equation. The songs you have out have to connect with a national audience, and those songs have to be familiar to hip-hop and non-hip-hop fans alike. It’s even better if one of your songs is charting on Billboard, which means mainstream listeners know you by name recognition.

A quick search on Hanumankind’s numbers: Instagram (1.9 million), Twitter (10.5 followers), TikTok (65.9 followers), Spotify (over 9.5 million monthly listeners), YouTube (2.5 million subscribers). The video for his riotious hit song “Big Dawgs” has over 227 million views. The song debuted at No. 57, reaching as high as No. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100. It entered the top 10 of the Billboard Global 200 as well, thanks to his huge following in India.

For his follow-up single, “Run It Up,” he reunited with producer Kalmi and director Bijoy Shetty, who were both involved in the making of “Big Dawgs.” The video has amassed 38 million views, spotlighting cultural themes like the use of the Chenda or a traditional Keralan drum.

Industry buzz. I trust people like Jacob Moore of Pigeons & Planes, who is usually super early on artists. He was the first person I saw writing about Hanumankind after the “Big Dawgs” video went viral. Since then, Hanumankind has gotten co-signs from Bun B and Project Pat in separate IG Lives. He went viral for his freestyle on On the Radar, and he eventually got A$AP Rocky on the “Big Dawgs” remix after teasing it.

As far as performances, he’s already done Rolling Loud Thailand (he brought out Rocky) and both weekends of this year’s Coachella. He’s done radio interviews with Zane Lowe, Big Boy, and The Cruz Show, a good sign that his team is pointing him in the right direction to get more exposure. Rolling Stone India gave him a solo cover, and Rolling Stone placed him in their Future 25 list.

Impact. Here, it gets tricky. XXL’s list boils down to artists who are red hot right now. As years have gone on, there are multiple rappers with momentum that it’s hard to narrow down to 10 to 12 picks. I read on a Reddit thread that XXL needs to start telling a narrative with their selections. Too many artists get left off, and XXL benefits when they do a cohesive theme like 2017’s “Generation Next” and 2022’s “Breaking the Mold.”

For Hanumankind, his influence is growing. iShowSpeed declared him the “best hip-hop artist that ever came out of India.” He’s bringing his culture into his music, heard in the South Indian folk music-inflected production on “Go to Sleep” with Parimal Shais. People are buying into his potential.

Why He Should Be a XXL Freshman: I think his inclusion in the 2025 XXL Freshman list would amplify India’s burgeoning hip-hop scene to the world. He has what it takes to be an international music star, trusting his creativity as he gets more famous. He’s at the sweet spot of having a nice buzz and about to be out of here, based on the reception of his high-energy shows. He’s a candidate for XXL to believe in his career journey, possibly creating a partnership with the brand, seen in 2011 XXL Freshman Kendrick Lamar, who has had multiple XXL covers since his first. Hanumankind is the future of hip-hop.

Review: Yudes - Fu Lai (Yudes, 2025)

Yudes DM'ed me Fu Lai weeks before it released, so I'm giving his album a fair listen. There's not a lot of information about him online, but it is reported he's based in Atlanta and makes music that fits the Chengdu rap mold. He's a white rapper who is very fluent in Mandarin, one-upping the little Chinese I know. He has a deep voice, delivering Mandarin pretty clearly and hitting those inflection points.

On Fu Lai, reportedly written over five years and across two continents, guest features Chow Mane, Shanghai Phantom, Dtrue, Ted Park, and Parlay Pass are all independent Asian artists who have had a minor hit or two, believing in Yudes' trap sound and how he can gather underground names young Chinese rap listeners. It shows Yudes' commitment to the language and culture, which you could categorize him as part of the Chengdu rap movement. Fu Lai has some bops like "Local Accent," "Fly U Out," and "Top Down Low," featuring the first recorded bars about Keshi by Dane Amar. I could see him performing "Chinese Rap 666" and "Halo" on The Rap of China. But if Yudes wants to make it in American hip-hop, though, he's going to have to prove himself in English, too. [YouTube, Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal]

Jackson Wang - “GBAD” (Number_i Remix), “GBAD” (Remix) f/ Bia, Milli, and Youha

Sometimes, we gotta be a dick, says Jackson Wang. Collaborating with the Japanese boy band Number_i, the remix is super chill hip-hop. Wang channels the Slick Rick flow a bit!

Wang continues to push “GBAD” with a ladies re-up featuring my favorites: Bia, Milli, and Youha. This is the official remix, which you can stream here. Magic Man 2 is out this summer.

Seiji Oda & Warren Hue - “Highs & Lows”

A P-Lo beat automatically means you gotta get hyphy on it. Seiji Oda’s verse makes me want to do donuts with the doors open. Warren Hue gets melodically weird.

Eric Reprid - “Hell Yeah”

Playboi Carti is reaching Lil Wayne levels of influence. Chinese-Canadian rapper Eric Reprid does his best imitation that’ll get the mosh pits going crazy. His “chink” rhymes are still bad though.

Parlay Pass x Dbo x Ted Park x Justin Park - “Fake Smile”

Parlay Pass and Ted Park do a lot of music together, creating some of my favorite songs like “Dance Like Jay Park” and “Chop Like Karate.” We gon’ be alright if we put Ted Park on every hook.

Follow the Family Style playlist here.

Dumbfoundead (Jonnie Park) and Andrea Jin have launched a new podcast called Baby Goat under Bill Burr’s All Things Comedy network. In the inaugural episode, they have a conversation covering everything from hot jobs to cheating. I’m glad Dumb is back podding and I’m excited to see him explore different creative avenues in comedy and acting.

Watch the first episode below. New episodes are dropping every Wednesday, so support them here.