What is the origin behind Mr Cardamom? Zohran Mamdani's rap career explored in wake of historic NYC mayor primary win

On June 24, 2025, Andrew Cuomo conceded to Zohran Mamdani, son of Indian filmmaker Mira Nair, further making the latter a Democratic nominee for the general elections in November 2025. Amid this victory and celebration, old videos of the young politician had been making the rounds across the social media platforms.

Curious netizens dug out old rap videos of Mamdani where he was making music under the monikers Mr. Cardamom and Young Cardamom. A 2019 article by The New York Times called Mamdani a rapper based in Queens. The article was regarding a music video that starred actress and cookbook author Madhur Jaffrey.

The article suggested that Mamdani had begun his rap career back in the late 2000s. At the time, he was also running for the position of vice president at the Bronx High School of Science. In an attempt to pursue his passion, Zohran Mamdani formed a rap duo in the mid-2010s with a friend named Abdul Bar Hussein.

In 2016, the duo released an EP titled Sidda Mukyaalo. They have reportedly rapped in six different languages on the EP while also giving special tribute to Ugandan culture. According to Billboard, the young politician often touched on social and political issues through his rap music. On Askari, he rapped:

"When it's a Black friend or family member, it always takes a bit longer."

In 2016, in an interview with OkayAfrica, Zohran Mamdani revealed that the title of the EP means "no going back to the village" in Luganda. Another piece that has lately gone viral was a track titled Nani. According to Billboard, this track was meant as a tribute to his grandmother, Praveen Nair.

This video, which cast Madhur Jaffrey, got a full-length article in the New York Times in 2019. The music video for Nani is the only one that is currently present on the YouTube channel called Mr. Cardamom. The video currently has approximately 270,000 views on the platform.

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Exploring more about Zohran Mamdani's rap career prior to him becoming a politician

Zohran Mamdani's rap career has become a point of criticism by many people who led the anti-Zohran rallies, according to The Rolling Stone. According to the outlet, at one such rally, a critic recently described Mamdani as a C-class rapper. Back in 2019, Mamdani, under the moniker Mr. Cardamom, took to X and wrote:

"You know I'll be forever spicy but I'm taking a break from being a spice to answer the question of what happens when a B-list rapper runs for office. Come through if you want answers."

As aforementioned, Zohran's Nani has begun gaining momentum since he started focusing on his political career. In 2019, he told The New York Times that the track was written by him back in 2017 for Praveen Nair. In 2016, while talking to OkayAfrica about his EP Sidda Mukyaalo, Mamdani said:

"I can't go back to the village because, as an Asian Ugandan, I simply do not have any village. The city is all I have."

According to The Rolling Stone, Mamdani made several references and tributes to his culture while he was making music. Netizens, meanwhile, flooded the comment section under the YouTube video of Nani and extended support to the politician. Many claimed that the music showed how much love he had for his grandmother.

Back in 2019, talking to The New York Times about this video, Zohran Mamdani stated that his grandmother had "gone against the grain in so many different ways."

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The formal outcome of the election is yet to come and will only be announced on July 1. However, Zohran Mamdani was clearly leading on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Andrew Cuomo also revealed that he had called up Mamdani and conceded the primary.