Zohran Mamdani and Nas talk about keeping New York City at the center of hip-hop

The rapper and New York City mayor sat down for a new documentary exploring the culture’s roots and what it will take to keep the city connected to its future.

New York City has long been synonymous with hip-hop, but Nas and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani are asking a larger question: What does it mean for the city to remain home to a culture it helped create?

In a new documentary from Billboard, Mamdani sits down with Nas to discuss the past, present and future of hip-hop in New York, including what it will take for the city to continue supporting the artists and communities shaping the culture.

The conversation takes place near Nas’ childhood home in the Queensbridge Houses, a setting that serves as a reminder of just how deeply hip-hop is connected to New York’s neighborhoods.

For Nas, hip-hop has always been more than music. “Hip-hop unveils the truth,” he says in the documentary. “Hip-hop tells you exactly what your city looks like, sounds like, [and] feels like.”

That idea is central to the rapper’s understanding of the culture. Born in the Bronx and raised across New York’s boroughs, hip-hop emerged from communities using music, DJing, dance and art to document their experiences and create something new.

Mamdani argues that New York cannot simply rest on its history as hip-hop’s birthplace. “We can’t be content with [New York City] having been the birthplace of hip-hop,” he says. “We want it to still be the home.”

The documentary also visits the Bronx School of Hip-Hop, where principal Jason Reyes discusses the significance of having city leadership support an institution dedicated to the culture.

“Who would have ever thought that hip-hop would make it this far?” Reyes says.

For a city whose identity has been intertwined with hip-hop for nearly five decades, the conversation between Nas and Mamdani is ultimately about more than nostalgia. It is about how New York continues to make space for the artists, stories and communities that keep the culture moving forward.