NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is still making money from his as a multilingual rapper, tax filings show.
But the 34-year-old Democrat鈥檚 has brought only a modest increase in hip-hop profits: he took home $1,643 in music royalties last year, up only slightly from $1,267 in 2024, according to the filings.
Mamdani, who rapped under the monikers 鈥淵oung Cardamom鈥� and 鈥淢r. Cardamom,鈥� joked Thursday that New Yorkers should 鈥済o to Spotify鈥� if they want to help his bottom line. 鈥淎 lot of people say they鈥檙e listening,鈥� he added. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e not listening.鈥�
Mamdani began rapping in high school, releasing socially conscious songs in his 20s on subjects ranging from Indian flatbread to colonialism. He has described himself as a following in the footsteps of his childhood heroes, including the indie-rap group Das Racist.
The tax filings, shared with reporters Thursday, showed the bulk of Mamdani鈥檚 2025 earnings came from his $131,296 salary as a state Assembly member. His wife netted an additional $10,010 for graphic design work. In total, they reported a joint income of roughly $145,000.
As mayor, Mamdani is set to earn a salary of $258,750 this year.
He鈥檚 not New York City鈥檚 first mayor to take home entertainment royalties.
According to his redacted 2012 tax return, then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg received somewhere between $2,000 and $10,000 in residuals from prior appearances as himself on TV鈥檚 鈥淟aw & Order鈥� franchise, the 2008 TV special 鈥淎 Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa鈥� and the 2011 movie 鈥淭he Adjustment Bureau,鈥� which starred Matt Damon.
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