Before launching into politics, the new mayor of New York tried his hand at music, under the pseudonym Mr. Cardamom.
Unknown until a few months ago, Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor of New York this Tuesday, November 4. But before this meteoric rise in politics, the 34-year-old elected Democrat, a fervent opponent of Donald Trump, wore several hats, including that of rapper.
Under the alias Young Cardamom or Mr. Cardamom, Zohran Mamdani tried in 2015 to launch into music, influenced in particular by Das Racist, a New York group that is both innovative and schoolboy, two of whose members are of Indian origin, playing with references and clichés from the subcontinent.
A successful clip
At the time, the young artist had made himself known on YouTube thanks to his song Nanireleased in 2016 and which has since had more than 800,000 views, and regularly performed in the New York subway.
According to Reuters, Zohran Mamdani also gave a duo concert with his childhood friend Hussein Abdul Bar during a music festival in Uganda in 2016. But the musical experience will not last for the man who describes himself as a “second-rate artist”.
But, caught up in his passion, it was ultimately thanks to rap that Zohran Mamdani turned to politics. When he read in 2015 that one of his favorite artists, the rapper Heems, was supporting a friend of his, a candidate for city council, he joined his campaign as an activist. The political virus will never leave him.
Politics virus
“I got involved in local politics after reading in ‘Village Voice’ in 2015 that Heems, one of my favorite rappers, supported my childhood friend,” explained Zohran Mamdani last July on Hot 97 radio.
Now involved in politics, the New York elected official will take office on January 1 and will thus become the first Muslim mayor of the largest city in the United States.
