New York City’s incoming mayor, Zohran Mamdani, recently appeared on an extended episode of former The Daily Show host Trevor Noah’s What Now? podcast. While their conversation mainly focused on issues like politics and migration, Mamdani made time to talk about his fondness for South African music.
Mamdani said they hadn’t managed to touch on “Mzansi” music during the discussion and promised to return to the show so they could dive into it properly. He called out several South African artists by name — including Cassper Nyovest, Kwesta and the late Riky Rick — and said he enjoys listening to tracks like Boss Zonke and even DJs he finds on YouTube, joking that he’s spent “too long” listening to Slyza Tsotsi online.
Noah and co-host Eugene Khoza agreed a follow-up episode was needed. They also shared some laughs about their shared African roots. Mamdani was born in Kampala, Uganda, and spent part of his early childhood in Cape Town while his father worked as a professor at the University of Cape Town. The family later moved to New York when he was seven, where he eventually began his political career.
Noah, who grew up in Johannesburg, joked about how many Ugandans he knows before clearly saying he has lots of Ugandan friends, highlighting the cultural connection between the two
