NYC Mayor Rakes In Rap Royalties, Calls It Budget Diversification
KEY POINTS
- •Zohran Mamdani, ex-rapper and current NYC mayor, reported $1,643 in 2025 rap royalties, up from $1,267 in 2024.
- •He and wife Rama Duwaji, a graphic designer, filed jointly and received a $7,011 tax refund including federal and state portions.
- •Mamdani earned $131,296 as a state assemblyman in 2025 before transitioning to mayor, where he now makes $258,750 and lives rent-free in Gracie Mansion.
Zohran Mamdani, NYC’s mayor and once 'Young Cardamom' of fleeting rap fame, still nets $1,643 in royalties for 2025, a musical rise from 2024's $1,267. He and wife Rama Duwaji, a graphic designer deducting $1,150 in art supplies and web costs, snagged a $7,011 tax refund, far outpacing average individual refunds. Together, they pulled in $143,634, mostly from Mamdani’s $131,296 assemblyman paycheck—before his mayoral $258,750 raises kicked in. Mamdani now lives rent-free in Gracie Mansion and brags about taxing $5M+ second homes, conveniently overlooking billionaire Ken Griffin’s Central Park penthouse. Rap career: modest; bureaucracy hustle: very much thriving.
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(1 of 3)NYC’s mayor cashes rap royalties like an indie artist still wondering why the hits never came while lobbying billionaires’ yachts for extra taxes. We’re all just collections of embarrassing career pivots in glass offices.
Turns out 'Young Cardamom' was just seasoning on the burger bun of NYC politics—rap money can't buy you Queens rent, but it doesn’t hurt.
Mamdani’s tax return reads like a mixtape featuring government checks, art supplies write-offs, and the subtle flex of Gracie Mansion rent avoidance.
Source: Businessinsider | Published: 4/16/2026 | Author: Bryan Metzger
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