Mamdani meets Nas in Queens to talk hip-hop's home and future

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani sat down with Nas in Queens to talk about hip-hop and housing. The conversation was released as a video by the New York City Mayor's Office.

The meeting took place at Queensbridge Park, outside Nas's childhood home at the Queensbridge Projects. The two discussed hip-hop's roots and what the music means for the city's past and future, according to Rolling Stone.

Mamdani said New York should not settle for being hip-hop's birthplace. It should stay its home. That, he said, means making sure artists who make culture in the city can afford to live there.

He linked the rising cost of living to the displacement of the communities that created that culture. Rents keep climbing. Long-term residents get pushed out.

Nas said hip-hop tells you what a city looks, sounds and feels like. He described it as an outcry from people demanding change.

Hip-hop was born in the Bronx in the summer of 1973. Mamdani also marked the first day of school with students at the Bronx School of Hip Hop in the Claremont section of the Bronx.

Mamdani is a self-described hip-hop fan with his own history on the mic. He formerly rapped under the name Young Cardamom, and before his run for mayor he released music as Mr. Cardamom. He once performed as a rapper at a festival in Uganda, according to Reuters.

He has named the Notorious B.I.G., JAY-Z and Nas among his five favourite rappers of all time, according to Consequence.

What makes this stand out is the casting. A mayor who used to rap sat down with one of the rappers he grew up ranking. The topic stayed practical: who gets to live in the city that made the music.