A$AP Rocky is confident in his ability to win, whether it's a rap battle or an election – even if his opponent is Zoran Mamdani.
In an excerpt from the interview for the magazine cover Vibe , In a post published on Tuesday (June 2), the rapper—real name Rakim Meyers—displayed his characteristic confidence when asked about the possibility of a rap battle with the mayor of New York City. "Mamdani wants to fight me?" Rocky asked incredulously. "No way, he challenged me to a battle.".
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«"Mamdani won't mess with me," the hip-hop star continued after the interviewer reminded him that someone at the 2026 Met Gala apparently asked him about running against the mayor. "Listen, I'm already going after his job because I'm going to be Mayor Meyers in about four years.".
«"If he wants to fight, we can do that, if he wants to argue a little, we can do that too," Rocky added. "I'm here to do something useful, humanitarian work for the city I'm from. All that nonsense aside, I'm actually going to run for mayor. Keep an eye on that.".
Edition Billboard contacted the press service of the mayor of Mamdani for comment.
Mamdani has served as mayor of New York City since winning the election last November. He has made history as the city's most progressive mayor to date, and is (likely) also the first person in the position to have previously recorded his own rap music. During his campaign last year, supporters dug up his old rap catalog, discovering that in 2016 he released an EP titled Sidda Mukyaalo in collaboration with Hab under the pseudonym Young Cardamom.
Rocky, born and raised in Harlem, has also been vocal about his political ambitions in the past. "There are a lot of political issues that need to be addressed, there are changes that need to be made," he said. Esquire magazine in January. "I think I would have succeeded because I'm a pro-people person... [in] 2029, vote for Mayor Meyers. Vote for Rocky.".
Rocky released his latest album in January. Don't Be Dumb , which debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Watch Rocky discuss his upcoming showdown with Mamdani in his chat on Vibe below:
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