NEW YORK: Pakistani singer and rapper Shamoon Ismail has earned a place on New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s playlist.
Speaking about the music currently on rotation, Mamdani said he had been listening to Ugandan duo Radio & Weasel, as well as Shamoon Ismail.
“Right now, I’ve been listening to a lot of Radio & Weasel, who are a duo from Uganda who were running the charts for a long, long time,” he told Rolling Stone in an interview.
“I’ve also been listening to a Pakistani rapper named Shamoon Ismail, who I’ve listened to for a few years. If I’m feeling reflective, throw on some Kacey Musgraves.”
The mention has drawn attention to Ismail, whose blend of Punjabi, Urdu and English music has built a strong following at home and abroad. His songs including — Tuntuna, Rung and Confetti — have amassed millions of streams across digital platforms.
Mamdani, who was also a rapper, took a break from music when he first ran for office, winning a seat in the state assembly in 2020, representing Queens, the New York City borough with the largest Indian population.
However, his past life in hip-hop remains a part of his official record. In his annual financial disclosures, the New York state assemblyman lists “self-employed rapper” as among his jobs and he still earns negligible royalties from performing under the names Young Cardamom and Mr Cardamom.
Early in his music career, Mamdani performed as part of a duo with his childhood friend Hussein Abdul Bar at a music festival in their birthplace of Uganda in 2016.
“Queen of Katwe,” directed by Mamdani’s mother, award-winning Indian filmmaker Mira Nair, had a video for a song that Mamdani contributed.
After meeting a hip-hop producer during the shooting of the movie, Mamdani recorded a few songs of his own.
In a campaign video released in July, Mamdani is seen making hip-hop legend RZA from Wu-Tang Clan laugh by referencing Wu-Tang Financial, a sketch in which the hip-hop stars played financial consultants. Their strategy was described by this line from their hit C.R.E.A.M: “Get the money, dollar, dollar bill, y’all.”
— Additional input from Reuters
2026-07-26 10:20:00
