{"id":363150,"date":"2026-10-02T20:24:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T20:24:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/363150\/"},"modified":"2026-10-02T20:24:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T20:24:10","slug":"nas-mamdani-talk-keeping-nyc-home-of-hip-hop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/363150\/","title":{"rendered":"Nas, Mamdani Talk Keeping NYC \u2018Home\u2019 Of Hip-Hop"},"content":{"rendered":"

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani<\/a> and rap legend Nas are reflecting on hip-hop<\/a>\u2019s roots and what it will take to keep New York connected to the culture it helped create.<\/p>\n

The two sat down near Queensbridge Park for a video released by Mamdani\u2019s office Wednesday (September 30), as the city marked 53 years of hip-hop. Mamdani also highlighted the opening of the Bronx School of Hip Hop, which incorporates hip-hop culture into its curriculum.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can’t be content with having been the birthplace of hip-hop,\u201d Mamdani said. \u201cWe want it to still be the home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mamdani said the school gives students an opportunity to learn about hip-hop\u2019s history while helping shape its future.<\/p>\n

Nas, who grew up in Queensbridge, spoke about hip-hop\u2019s role in documenting the realities of New York communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cHip-hop unveils the truth,\u201d Nas said. \u201cHip-hop tells you exactly what your city looks like, sounds like, feels like.\u201d<\/p>\n

He described the genre as \u201can outcry from people who demanded things to change and to tell the world what we were going through.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nas also reflected on young people growing up in neighborhoods where they may not always see a path forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know so many people from this neighborhood that has so much potential, but there was nothing showing them a different way,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Mamdani connected that issue to the challenge of keeping New Yorkers in the communities where they grew up.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are a lot of people who when they are struggling in this city, their dream of making it means having to leave the neighborhood where they grew up,\u201d Mamdani said. \u201cAnd how do we also make those neighborhoods the places that if you make it, you want to choose to stay there?\u201d<\/p>\n

He closed by emphasizing the importance of continuing to build on hip-hop\u2019s legacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo keep writing, to keep creating, to keep dreaming, it\u2019s also a reminder of what the city has to be,\u201d Mamdani said. \u201cWe have to forever be hungry. We can\u2019t be content with having been the birthplace of hip-hop. We want it to still be the home.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Black Information Network is your source for Black News! Get the latest news 24\/7 on The Black Information Network. Listen now on the iHeartRadio app<\/a> or click HERE<\/a> to tune in live.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and rap legend Nas are reflecting on hip-hop\u2019s roots and what it…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":363151,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[1123,605,9,56,63,65,64,82],"class_list":["post-363150","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-hip-hop","tag-nas","tag-new-york","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-nyc-headlines","tag-nyc-news","tag-zohran-mamdani"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363150","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=363150"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363150\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/363151"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=363150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=363150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=363150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}