Zohran Mamdani has been confirmed as New York City's new mayor and while he's made history with the appointment, he's already making some enemies.
The 34-year-old publicly called out President Donald Trump when his victory was confirmed, with the democratic socialist certainly not shy about making his opinions clear.
Mamdani, who will become the first Muslim and first South Asian mayor at his swearing-in ceremony on the first day of 2026, has caused some controversy among the elite after announcing his plans to raise the corporate tax rate to 11.5 percent and introducing a flat two percent tax for New Yorkers who make more than $1 million a year.
It doesn't take a genius to realise why the upper class wouldn't be happy with these new taxes, but it could be incredibly beneficial for everyone else, and Mamdani has certainly won himself a lot of fans thanks to his historic pledges.
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Trump took to Truth Social after his victory to simply write 'and so it begins', but Mamdani seems to be in the midst of another feud with a huge name in politics - none other than 50 Cent.
Earlier today (5 October), the rapper posted an AI-generated picture of a gravestone on Instagram seemingly implying that New York City was dead. He'd also previously suggested that he'd pay for the politician to leave the city.
In June, 50 Cent - real name Curtis James Jackson III - said: "Where did he come from? Whose friend is this? I’m not feeling this plan. No. I will give him $258,750 and a first class one-way ticket away from NY. I’m telling Trump what he said too!"
Mamdani has since responded, telling The Beat with Ari Melber: "He’s a critic! I didn’t even know what my salary would be until I opened up Instagram and saw this thing that was like, '50 Cent offers Mamdani x-amount of money'.
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"I was like, 'That’s a very specific amount of money. Oh my God!'"
He went on to joke: "Even though we have a disagreement on tax policy, every time I get a death threat, I still listen to 'Many Men'."
The new mayor also clarified exactly why he wanted to introduce the new taxes, saying: "I continue to think that having the top one percent on New York City who are making more than one million dollars a year, having them pay two percent more for an economic agenda that would transform every New Yorkers’ life, including their own, is something that is worth while.
"The reason I say including their own is when you see a city like ours that is underfunding its city agencies, that is pulling back on the most basic things like library services and trash cans, everybody feels the effects of that."
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You have to have thick skin as a politician, especially when rappers are coming at you for seemingly no reason other than wanting to stay rich, and Mamdani's latest response suggests that he's not going to let the words of people online affect his potentially groundbreaking plans for the city.
James Moorhouse