Zohran Mamdani officially introduced himself as the Mayor-elect of New York City by walking out to Ja Rule’s “New York” last night.
On Tuesday (Nov. 4), Mamdani defeated Independent candidate Andrew Cuomo and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa in NYC’s mayoral election. The win sets a precedent in multiple categories, as the 34-year-old politician is the first South Asian, Muslim and millennial to be elected mayor in N.Y.C. When Mamdani took the stage at his election night watch party at the Brooklyn Paramount to celebrate his win, he walked out to Ja Rule’s 2004 Empire State anthem, “New York.”
Mamdani’s love for hip-hop is well documented. During his early political days, he moonlighted as a rapper. In 2016, rapping under the name Young Cardamom, he released an EP titled Sidda Mukyaalo along with Ugandan artist HAB. In 2019, Mamdani released a single titled “Nani,” which pays homage to his grandmother.
One person who does not seem happy about Mamdani’s win or choice of song is 50 Cent. After Mamdani was announced the winner, Fif shared a photo of a tombstone on his Instagram page, which read: “RIP New York City Founded 1624 Died 2025.”
“R.I.P. NYC,” he captioned the post.
In a follow-up post, 50 shared a clip of Mamdani’s celebration speech where he addresses President Trump by saying, “I have four words for you: Turn the volume up.”
50 captioned the post, “3 words: No funding coming! NYC finished.”
Zohran Mamdani is succeeding Eric Adams and will officially assume office on Jan. 1, 2026.
Watch Zohran Mamdani Walk Out to Ja Rule’s “New York” and See 50 Cent’s Reaction
