Music Site Stereogum Shares Zohran Mamdani's 2017 Song Coverage Mail After His Mayoral Win

Zohran Mamdani is dominating headlines, not just for being New York's mayor-elect but also for his musical past.

In 2017, Mamdani emailed music website Stereogum requesting coverage for his song "Salaam," which focused on the experiences and challenges of being Muslim in the US.

The email went unanswered at that time. Fast-forward to 2025, Stereogum shared a screenshot of the old email on X, with the caption, "Sorry we missed this, Mr. Mayor-Elect."

#tbt sorry we missed this, Mr. Mayor-Elect https://t.co/qgcJlfqil1 pic.twitter.com/OrULgdkqTd

— Stereogum (@stereogum) November 6, 2025

In his 2017 email, Mamdani introduced himself to Stereogum as a rapper based in New York City. "Hi Stereogum, I'm a rapper here in NYC and I've just released a new song titled Salaam. It's about what it means to be Muslim here in America today- the fear, and the roots of that fear," he wrote.

Mamdani said it would be a dream for someone at Stereogum to write about the song and shared a link to his SoundCloud.

"It would be a dream if someone at Stereogum would write about this in any which way. Do you think that would be possible? Here's a link to my Soundcloud- song is available on all other platforms," he added.

"Much love and looking forward to hearing from you," he concluded the email.

The same year, he also posted a link to his "Salaam" track on X with the caption, "This is Salaam. A song about being Muslim in America today. "

This is #Salaam. A song about being Muslim in America today. https://t.co/Pcyrxp3uqI #NoBanNoWall

— Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@ZohranKMamdani) March 27, 2017

Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist, made history by becoming New York City's youngest mayor and the first Indian-American Muslim to hold the position.

At his victory celebration, "Dhoom Machale," the title track from the popular Bollywood movie Dhoom, was played; Mamdani waved at his supporters and hugged his wife, Rama Duwaji.

His parents, Mahmood Mamdani, a Ugandan scholar, and Mira Nair, an Indian filmmaker, joined him on stage.

The video of this moment also went viral, with people on X saying Mamdani had an "unreal aura."