NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani is still earning rap music royalties, tax filings show

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is still earning royalties from his past career as a multilingual rapper
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is still making money from his short-lived career as a multilingual rapper, tax filings show.

Mamdani, who rapped under the monikers “Young Cardamom” and “Mr.

Cardamom,” joked Thursday that New Yorkers should “go to Spotify” if they want to help his bottom line.

“A lot of people say they’re listening,” he added.

“They’re not listening.”
Mamdani began rapping in high school, releasing socially conscious songs in his 20s on subjects ranging from Indian flatbread to colonialism.

He has described himself as a “C-list rapper” following in the footsteps of his childhood heroes, including the indie-rap group Das Racist.

As mayor, Mamdani is set to earn a salary of $258,750 this year.

According to his redacted 2012 tax return, then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg received somewhere between $2,000 and $10,000 in residuals from prior appearances as himself on TV’s “Law & Order” franchise, the 2008 TV special “A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa” and the 2011 movie “The Adjustment Bureau,” which starred Matt Damon .