Kamal Ghorui
‘Go to Spotify’: NYC Mayor Mamdani jokes as ‘Mr. Cardamom’ rap royalties hit $2,700
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is still making money from his short-lived career as a multilingual rapper, according to tax filings released Thursday.The 34-year-old Democrat took home $1,643 in music royalties in 2025, up slightly from $1,267 in 2024, the filings show. An additional $1,075 came from worldwide royalties, bringing his total music income to approximately $2,700 for the year.Mamdani, who rapped under the monikers “Young Cardamom” and “Mr. Cardamom,” joked Thursday that New Yorkers should “go to Spotify” if they want to help his bottom line.“A lot of people say they’re listening,” he added. “They’re not listening.”
From rapper to mayor
Mamdani first picked up the mic in high school, rapping during a vice presidential campaign. By 2015, he was performing as “Young Cardamom”, later upgrading to “Mr. Cardamom” as he joked about leaving his youth behind.His breakout came with “Nani,” a 2019 video featuring actress Madhur Jaffrey as his onscreen grandmother. The track pulled in over 200,000 YouTube views and tens of thousands of Spotify streams.In 2016, he and a childhood friend dropped a six-song EP exploring their Ugandan roots, rapping in multiple languages across tracks that touched on post-colonial identity and everyday prejudice.Mamdani also worked on a Disney film soundtrack, his mother directed it, and he admitted “nepotism and hard work goes a long way.” The video starred him alongside Lupita Nyong’o.He calls himself a “C-list rapper” (his online persona insists on “B-list”). His heroes include the indie-rap group Das Racist.He walked away from music when he ran for state Assembly in 2019. His rapper alter-ego announced the break on X: “I’m taking a break from being a spice.”His streaming numbers jumped during his mayoral run, from about 215,000 listens in 2024 to roughly 550,000 in 2025.
Tax breakdown
The bulk of Mamdani’s 2025 earnings came from his $131,296 salary as a state Assembly member. His wife, Rama Duwaji, reported $10,010 for graphic design work. In total, they reported a joint adjusted gross income of roughly $143,000.The couple took the standard deduction, boosted by President Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” which increased their deduction from $29,000 to $31,500. The release represents a return to tradition. Previous mayors have made their tax returns available to bolster faith in them. That got slightly disrupted when Eric Adams took office, as his return wouldn’t be available until October in his first year.As mayor, Mamdani is set to earn a salary of $258,750 this year, a significant increase from his Assembly salary.
