People · Explainer
Rapper, housing counselor, mayor: 8 things to know about Zohran Mamdani
New York's mayor became a national face of the Democratic wave. Here's the man behind it.
Zohran Mamdani, 35, has been New York City's mayor since Jan. 1, 2026, and the city's first Muslim and first Asian American mayor. After the midterms he urged Democrats to deliver change voters can "feel in their wallets."
The morning after the midterms, New York's mayor was already pushing: "Foot on the gas, foot on the gas," Mamdani said, per City & State. Here's who he is, drawn from his public biography as compiled on Wikipedia and from reporting this week.
1. Born in Kampala, raised in Manhattan
Mamdani was born Oct. 18, 1991, in Kampala, Uganda, lived in Cape Town as a child, and moved to New York at age 7, growing up in Morningside Heights, per 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, and 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, and in 2019 released "Nani," an homage to his grandmother, under the name Mr. Cardamom, with Madhur Jaffrey 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, which he has said motivated him to run, per Wikipedia.
5. He beat an incumbent to get started
He won Astoria's Assembly seat in 2020 by ousting a five-term incumbent, and as a lawmaker 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, becoming the city's first Muslim and first Asian American mayor. 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, follows cricket and pro wrestling, and speaks Hindi, Swahili, Luganda, Spanish and Arabic to varying degrees, Wikipedia says.
8. His midterm message
"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: "It's morning again in America."
Sources
- Mamdani's victory lap: 'Foot on the gas, this is the moment' — City & State New York
- Mamdani sees an opening after Democratic sweep, but Hochul still holds the keys in Albany — amNewYork
- Zohran Mamdani — Wikipedia
- Post by Zohran Mamdani on X — X