Big Stepper: Behind the scenes of LEGO tribute to Hanumankind's Big Dawgs
Not too long ago, city-based rapper-singer Hanumankind created waves in the global hip-hop scene with Big Dawgs. Released in 2024, the sleeper hit went on to become a chart breaker, garnering praises from music enthusiasts and celebrities across the world.
Recently, Big Dawgs peaked again after city-based Zebu Animation unveiled its LEGO tribute to the song. Its founder and creative director Veerendra Patil says the idea was born out of passion and admiration for the track and the visuals of the music video.
“We were blown away by the song and video – the energy, the style, everything just clicked. We were wrapping up our LEGO feature film at the time. That’s when we had the idea: ‘What if this existed in LEGO?’ From there, it was about capturing the spirit of the original and adding a layer of playful tribute,” he says.
Bringing the LEGO characters to life, with a focus on capturing the spirit of the original song, was, in fact, a labour-intensive yet creative process for the team. “The key was to nail the animation – the timing, look and making the LEGO Hanumankind easily recognisable,” Patil explains. The team poured their hearts into the project and ensured that the final product met their standards, he adds.
The tribute features iconic elements from the original, including the well of death and stunt drivers. “We wanted it to feel like an alternate universe where Big Dawgs dropped as a LEGO music video,” Patil says.
He credits teamwork for the final product, meeting their creative vision. “We’ve got artists, creatives, and technologists who are sharp, flexible, and visual. We all had different tastes in music, but the original track brought everyone together. We locked in on the music video’s vision – and reimagined it, brick by brick, in LEGO,” he explains.
The team’s lighting supervisor, Rakshith Hoskote, adapted the pipeline developed for their LEGO feature film, which helped streamline the process,” shares Patil.
As a tribute, the team focused more on reframing and not enhancing the original track. He notes, “It’s a homage, not a remix.”
When asked about the support extended to the team, Patil shared, “We are grateful for the encouragement from Hanumankind and his team. They even shared a family-friendly version of the track for us to use, since LEGO naturally leans toward all ages. We also got good response from Bijoy Shetty and Kalmi (director and producer, respectively, of the original music video).”