It is no secret that New York City’s new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, is a major hip-hop fan. But now, the politician has found himself making noise far beyond City Hall after a viral moment threw him onto social media’s radar for revealing his top five rappers of all time.

On March 17, during a conversation with educator and writer Jose Vilson about expanding New York’s 3-K and Pre-K programmes across all five boroughs, Mayor Zohran Mamdani suddenly found the spotlight shifting in a very different direction. When Vilson hit him with the far more culture-coded question of naming his top five rappers of all time, the mayor did not hold back, shouting out Nas, Lupe Fiasco, Common, Jay-Z, and The Notorious B.I.G., while giving quick nods to their legacy and personal impact.

"I gotta put in Nas, as someone who used to represent Queensbridge Houses, largest public housing development in North America," ”Mayor Mamdani began before going on to name the rest of his top five.

What caught even more attention was who did not make the cut. As his top five started making the rounds online, fans quickly turned the spotlight toward the missing names, with absences like 2Pac, Drake, and Eminem only adding more fuel to the debate.

Zohran Mamdani’s rap-list reveal is not the only thing keeping him in the headlines, the New York City mayor has also been driving fresh attention at City Hall with his expanding 3-K and Pre-K push.

All about Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s 3-K and Pre-K push

Beyond the rap-list buzz, Mayor Zohran Mamdani has also kept attention fixed on City Hall with a strong push to expand early childhood education, announcing more than 1,000 new 3-K seats across the five boroughs while also rolling out 2,000 free 2-K seats in select communities.

Adding to that policy momentum, his administration also revealed a historic $2.1 million court judgment against a Bronx landlord, folding another major city move into a month already packed with headline-grabbing developments.

Since becoming New York City’s 112th mayor on January 1, 2026, Zohran Mamdani has kept his name moving through the city’s conversation for more than just politics. Before stepping into City Hall, the 34-year-old Democratic Socialist had already built a strikingly layered profile as a New York State Assembly member representing Queens, a housing counsellor, and even a rapper, making his ease with hip-hop culture feel far less surprising.

While City Hall continues to keep Zohran Mamdani in the spotlight, the world of hip-hop does not seem ready to let go either, with the recent reveal of his top five rappers of all time.

Who were you expecting to see in Zohran Mamdani’s top five rappers of all time? Let us know in the comments.

Written by

Lisa Roy

Edited by

Aliza Siddiqui