Mayor Zohran Mamdani Wants to Restore NYC’s Rap Capital Status: ‘We Can’t Be Content With … Simply Being the Birthplace’
The politician sat down with Nas to discuss the state of NYC hip-hop and more in a new documentary.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani, elected in 2025, is the first Muslim and South Asian mayor of New York City. He aims to restore the city's reputation as the rap capital and ensure hip-hop remains its heartbeat. In a documentary premiering on Billboard, Mamdani spoke with rap icon Nas about the current state of hip-hop in New York and its future.
Nas, who rapped under the alias Mr. Cardamom, emphasized that hip-hop reveals the truth about a city and its people, citing the Bronx School of Hip-Hop as a testament to this. The school, where hip-hop is integral to the curriculum, was highlighted during Mamdani's visit to the Bronx earlier in September. Despite facing criticism from fellow rapper 50 Cent, Mamdani remains a strong supporter of hip-hop and its artists, believing that the city should strive to make art accessible to future generations.
Written by urgent.news from Billboard's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
