Over 50 years ago, hip hop was born in the Bronx during the summer of 1973. Throughout the decades, hip hop continues to evolve as a global cultural movement that inspires artists and fans alike.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who moonlit as a rapper under the names Young Cardamom and Mr. Cardamom, recently sat with rap icon Nas at Queensbridge Park, outside of Nas’s childhood home at the Queensbridge Projects.
In a new video from the Mayor’s Office, Mamdani and Nas discuss the roots of hip hop and what it means to New York City’s past, present, and future. “We can’t be content with New York City simply being the birthplace of hip hop. We want it to still be its home, and that means ensuring that the artists who create here are actually able to live here,” says Mamdani.
The mayor pointed to the city’s rising cost of living and how communities who created New York City’s thriving culture are now being pushed out. “If we allow New York to become such an expensive city that art becomes a luxury good, then we are depriving future generations from the magic of art,” he says. “New Yorkers deserve a city that is a living, breathing testament to what it looks like when we create the conditions to help this art form flourish.”
Nas delves into hip hop’s impact and origins. “Hip-hop unveils the truth. Hip-hop tells you exactly what your city looks like, sounds like, feels like. It was an outcry from people who demanded things to change and to tell the world what we were going through,” says Nas. “And that came from a city that was going through a whole lot.”
During the short film, Mamdani also celebrates the first day of school with students at the Bronx School of Hip Hop, which a press release states “uses hip-hop culture as a foundation for rigorous instruction.” The school serves grades nine through 12 in District Nine in the Claremont section of the Bronx, where students study emceeing, DJing, graffiti, breaking, and “knowledge of self while connecting academic content to real-world experiences.” Their coursework includes classes in audio production, digital media and financial literacy, alongside the standard curriculum.
“It’s like surreal that New York City mayor’s office, the chancellor’s office, this is their school. They said we are going to back this,” says Principal Jason Reyes. “Who would have ever thought that hip-hop would make it this far? So, it means the world to know that our city is leading the way in a way that no one else has ever done it. And that’s New York.”
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