Rapper, housing counselor, mayor: 8 things to know about Zohran Mamdani

1. Born in Kampala, raised in Manhattan

Mamdani was born Oct. 18, 1991, in Kampala, Uganda. He lived in Cape Town as a child and moved to New York at age 7, growing up in Morningside Heights, according to his Wikipedia biography. His parents are academic Mahmood Mamdani and filmmaker Mira Nair.

2. Bronx Science, cricket and Bowdoin

He graduated from the Bronx High School of Science in 2010, where he co-founded the school's first cricket team. He earned an Africana studies degree from Bowdoin College in 2014, per Wikipedia.

3. He was a rapper: "Mr. Cardamom"

He performed in the duo Young Cardamom & HAB, whose first song was about chapati. In 2019 he released "Nani," an homage to his grandmother, under the name "Mr. Cardamom," with Madhur Jaffrey appearing in the video, Wikipedia notes.

4. Housing counselor before politician

In 2018 he worked as a foreclosure-prevention and housing counselor, helping lower-income immigrant homeowners in Queens. He has said that work motivated him to run for office, according to Wikipedia.

5. He beat an incumbent to get started

He won Astoria's Assembly seat in 2020 by ousting a five-term incumbent. As a lawmaker, he joined a 2021 hunger strike with taxi drivers seeking medallion debt relief, per Wikipedia.

6. The upset that made him mayor

He beat Andrew Cuomo in the June 2025 primary and won the general election, becoming the city's first Muslim and first Asian American mayor. He has served since Jan. 1, 2026. In office, the Rent Guidelines Board approved a rent freeze for stabilized units, per Wikipedia.

7. Sports fan and polyglot

He's a fan of Arsenal, the Knicks, Giants and Mets. He follows cricket and pro wrestling, and speaks Hindi, Swahili, Luganda, Spanish and Arabic to varying degrees, according to Wikipedia.

8. His midterm message

The morning after the midterms, Mamdani was already pushing. "Foot on the gas, foot on the gas," he said, per City & State.

"It is not enough for us as Democrats to win power," he said, per amNY. "We have to use that power to deliver change that Americans can feel in their wallets."

On X, he wrote: "It's morning again in America."