New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and rap legend Nas are reflecting on hip-hop’s roots and what it will take to keep New York connected to the culture it helped create.
The two sat down near Queensbridge Park for a video released by Mamdani’s office Wednesday (September 30), as the city marked 53 years of hip-hop. Mamdani also highlighted the opening of the Bronx School of Hip Hop, which incorporates hip-hop culture into its curriculum.
“We can't be content with having been the birthplace of hip-hop,” Mamdani said. “We want it to still be the home.”
Mamdani said the school gives students an opportunity to learn about hip-hop’s history while helping shape its future.
Nas, who grew up in Queensbridge, spoke about hip-hop’s role in documenting the realities of New York communities.
“Hip-hop unveils the truth,” Nas said. “Hip-hop tells you exactly what your city looks like, sounds like, feels like.”
He described the genre as “an outcry from people who demanded things to change and to tell the world what we were going through.”
Nas also reflected on young people growing up in neighborhoods where they may not always see a path forward.
“I know so many people from this neighborhood that has so much potential, but there was nothing showing them a different way,” he said.
Mamdani connected that issue to the challenge of keeping New Yorkers in the communities where they grew up.
“There are a lot of people who when they are struggling in this city, their dream of making it means having to leave the neighborhood where they grew up,” Mamdani said. “And how do we also make those neighborhoods the places that if you make it, you want to choose to stay there?”
He closed by emphasizing the importance of continuing to build on hip-hop’s legacy.
“To keep writing, to keep creating, to keep dreaming, it’s also a reminder of what the city has to be,” Mamdani said. “We have to forever be hungry. We can’t be content with having been the birthplace of hip-hop. We want it to still be the home.”
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