Mr. Cardamom? Zohran Mamdani, NYC's Democratic mayoral candidate, was a rapper.
A YouTube channel for one of Zohran Mamdani's rap monikers, Mr. Cardamom, has gone viral since the NYC Democratic mayoral election.
Zohran Mamdani turned heads after winning New York City's Democratic mayoral primary on Tuesday night. The election caught the attention of the country and in true internet fashion, a piece of Mamdani's past – a musical piece, at that – has been brought to light.
Mamdani, a 33-year-old Democratic socialist who has strong stances on renters' rights, affordable developments and higher taxes for the wealthy, defied odds by pushing out frontrunner and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. But Mamdani's progressive views aren't the only surprising thing about him. Since winning the primary, videos and music associated with Mamdani's old rap career have gone viral. In a "past life," Mamdani was known under the monikers Mr. Cardamom and Young Cardamom.
In 2016, Mamdani's song, #1 Spice, produced under the name Young Cardamom with Mamdani's childhood friend Abdul Car Hussein, who performed as HAB, was featured in Disney's "Queen of Katwe," directed by Mamdani's mother, Mira Nair.
Starring Lupita Nyong'o, "Queen of Katwe" tells the story of 10-year-old Phiona who becomes fascinated with chess, introduced to her by a missionary visiting her hometown of Kampala, Uganda. "#1 Spice" is the first track in the movie.
Mamdani's team did not immediately respond for comment about his rapping past when contacted by USA TODAY on June 25. But during a recent guest appearance on Kutti Gang, a New York comedy show, Mamdani did poke fun at independent artists.
"Every brown boy lived on SoundCloud at one point," Mamdani said during the show, laughing. "I'm running on a very simple message. It's not about being on SoundCloud, though, respect."
Who is Zohran Mamdani? Winner of NYC's Democratic mayoral primary?
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Mr. Cardamom's YouTube channel goes viral
The sole video on Mr. Cardamom's YouTube channel is a 2019 music video for his song, "Nani," dedicated to his grandmother Praveen Nair, the founder of Salaam Baalak Trust, a nonprofit that supports underprivileged children in Delhi, India, according to The New York Times. The video, which stars American-Indian actress Madhur Jaffrey as Nair, had more than 279,000 views as of June 25.
Produced when Mamdani was 27 years old, according to The New York Times, "Nani" tells the story of an underappreciated grandmother who describes herself as the "85 years gold" and the "best damn Nani that you ever done seen."
When did Mamdani start rapping?
Mamdani's musical career got its start when he was a junior at Bronx High School of Science, according to reporting by The New York Times. He ran for class vice president on a rapping campaign and unlike this week, lost.
Around 2015, Mamdani began rapping under Young Cardamom. In 2016, Mamdani and Hussein recorded and released a six-song EP titled, "Sidda Mukyaalo".
How to listen to Mamdani's old rap music
"Nani" is the only song available under Mamdani's Mr. Cardamom moniker, available on Spotify, Apple Music and of course, YouTube.
"#1 Spice" and the full "Sidda Mukyaalo" EP are available for streaming on Young Cardamom's Spotify.
What are people saying?
Largely, Mamdani's past rap career has received positive reviews from NYC voters and those elsewhere following the election.
The top comment on the "Nani" YouTube video reads, "That's Mayor Mr. Cardamom to you!"
Another comment on the video reads, "I love how every other politician has a crazy scandal and Zohran's just out here with a track about his Nani (grannie)."
Comedian and filmmaker Esau Hamadanyan poked fun at the mayoral candidate in a social media post on Wednesday.
"Zohran Mamdani did what very few men can accomplish: Acknowledge your rap mixtape is not that good, and switch lanes," comedian and filmmaker Hamadanyan wrote. "(I love Zohran, just goofin."
Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Story idea? Email her at gcross@usatoday.com.
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