MSNBC’s resident hip-hop anchor Ari Melber invites New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani to The Beat this week. During the conversation, Melber boldly raised 50 Cent’s criticism of Mamdani’s tax policies.
“He’s a critic!” Mamdani agreed. “I didn’t even know what my salary was until I opened Instagram and saw something like, ’50 Cent offers Mamdani x amount.’ I was like, ‘That’s a very specific amount of money.’ Oh my God! ‘”
Under pressure from Melber, Mamdani looked directly into the camera and told 50 Cent: “I still think it’s worth it for the top 1% of New York City people who make over $1 million a year to have them pay 2% more for an economic agenda that will change the lives of every New Yorker, including themselves.
“The reason I say including their own cities is because when you see cities like ours underfunding their city agencies, and the most basic things like library services and trash bins being cut, everyone feels the impact. And my job, as someone who cares deeply about the public sector, is to make sure we deliver excellent public services, and that means every dollar we raise, I hope to be able to demonstrate to you that every dollar is spent in a worthwhile way.”
He added, “Despite our differences, every time I get a death threat, I still listen to ‘Many Men.'” As expected, Melber went on to reference 50 Cent’s 2005 single “Piggy Bank,” like the hip-hop aficionado he proves to be.
“Mamdani and 50 have been arguing about taxes for months, so it was a natural question,” Melber told AllHipHop. “It seems like they have more in common musically than policy.
50 Cent’s feud with Mamdani began when Mamdani criticized the rapper during an interview with The Breakfast Club when he discussed plans to raise corporate taxes and impose an additional 2% tax on New York’s richest 1% of people making more than $1 million a year.
Anticipating pushback from the rich and famous, Mamdani said: “I know if 50 Cent is listening, he’s not going to be happy about this. He tends not to like this tax policy, but I want to be very clear, it’s about $20,000 a year.”
50 Cent quickly responded publicly, posting a clip of Mamdani’s comments on Instagram and offering Mamdani $258,750 for a one-way first class ticket from New York, writing: “Where is he from? Whose friend is this? I have no feelings about this plan. I’m going to tell Trump what he said too!”
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Below is the full interview between Melber and Mamdani.
