Long before he became the front-runner to become New York City’s next mayor, New York State Assembly member Zohran Mamdani was a fan of Das Racist — the absurdist hip-hop group known for, among other things, the song “ Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell .” You could even say Das Racist helped Mamdani get into politics.

Zohran Kwame Mamdani's win in the Democratic mayoral primary has caused a significant stir in NYC politics, drawing widespread national and international attention. As the first South Asian and Muslim candidate to secure a major-party nomination,

Zohran Mamdani, the presumptive Democratic mayoral nominee in New York City, used to rap and has seen his catalog surge in streams in recent weeks.