From Rapper to Mayor: How Zohran Mamdani's Unacknowledged Music Email Resurfaced After His Historic NYC Victory

New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is capturing attention not only for his historic political victory but also for his previously unknown musical endeavors.

Back in 2017, Mamdani reached out to popular music website Stereogum, seeking coverage for his song "Salaam," which explored the Muslim-American experience and associated challenges in contemporary America.

The correspondence remained unacknowledged at that time. However, in a remarkable turn of events in 2025, Stereogum publicly shared a screenshot of Mamdani's original email on social platform X, humorously captioning it, "Sorry we missed this, Mr. Mayor-Elect."

In his earnest 2017 message, Mamdani introduced himself as a New York City-based rapper, writing: "Hi Stereogum, I'm a rapper here in NYC and I've just released a new song titled Salaam. It's about what it means to be Muslim here in America today- the fear, and the roots of that fear."

The aspiring musician expressed his sincere wish for coverage, noting: "It would be a dream if someone at Stereogum would write about this in any which way. Do you think that would be possible? Here's a link to my Soundcloud- song is available on all other platforms."

His email concluded with a warm "Much love and looking forward to hearing from you."

That same year, Mamdani also promoted his track "Salaam" on X, describing it as "A song about being Muslim in America today," accompanied by hashtag #NoBanNoWall.

Now making history, Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist, has become New York City's youngest mayor and the first Indian-American Muslim to hold this prestigious position.

During his victory celebration, the Bollywood hit "Dhoom Machale" from the popular film Dhoom played as Mamdani greeted supporters and embraced his wife, Rama Duwaji.

His parents, Ugandan scholar Mahmood Mamdani and acclaimed Indian filmmaker Mira Nair, joined him onstage for this historic moment.

Footage of this celebratory scene quickly went viral, with social media users commenting that Mamdani possessed an "unreal aura."