Zohran Mamdani’s inauguration: A playlist of many Americas with a Sikh rapper signing off

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani reacts after speaking during his inauguration ceremony. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

On a freezing New Year’s morning in New York, after 34-year-old Zohran Mamdani was sworn in as the 112th mayor of the city with one hand on the Quran held by artist and wife Ruwa Duwaji, he walked away to the music of Sikh rapper Babbu Singh aka Babbulicious.

As confetti cascaded everywhere outside the City Hall, Brampton-based Singh, in a bright pink turban, flipped the lyrics of his famous song ‘Brampton vich munda rainda (Gaddi Red Challenger)’ (The boy lives in Brampton) and subbed it with New York neighbourhoods – Manhattan, Bronx, Harlem, Stanten Island – weaving the names of these into his verses as spaces where Mamdani belongs. New York vich munda rainda, Bronx vich munda rainda, Manhatten vich munda rainda… it went on (The boy lives in New York/ the boy lives in Bronx/ the boy lives in Manhattan)

As the beat pulsed through, Mamdani stood on the side, singing along, grinning and applauding as the crowd roared. It was playful and carried New York within it all, a space where people who spoke different languages came together to rock ‘n’ roll to Punjabi music.

Brampton-based Singh, known for his songs ‘Khand Mishri’ and ‘Good Life’, drifted off-key on stage, but even the imperfection of the sound didn’t stop people, braving the frigid temperatures, from enjoying the moment.

Babbu Singh is a comedian, artist, designer and children’s book author who owns a design and film agency with his brother Harman. He went to an art university but dropped out when he was 19 to make videos. He started creating skits and music videos, which found attention online. The idea was to work towards creating awareness about the Sikh community in the West. Singh has closely worked with Jasmeet Singh, aka JusReign, who is Canada’s biggest YouTube star known for his show Late Bloomers. Both attempt to combine humour with social commentary, with reflections on the South Asian immigrant experience. One of his most famous characters is ‘Khalsa Uncle’, where Singh plays a boisterous Sikh man in his videos. He based the character on a guy he met during former Canadian MP Jagmeet Singh’s political campaign.

As his performance went viral, some netizens assumed that Singh was Muslim and directed hate speech at him. One of the posts read: “Zohran Mamdani’s inauguration in New York City has music that’s not even in English and Muslim men on stage that look like they’re in Afghanistan. Buckle up America. This is the Islamic takeover of America.” Another X user wrote, “Of course there’s a Muslim rapper singing in Arabic at Mamdani’s inaugural celebration.”

While Sudanese-born DJ mOma, the child of immigrant parents, was on the console, actor Javier Muñoz with Puerto Rican roots sang the national anthem, actor Mandy Patinkin of Homeland fame sang ‘Over the Rainbow’ along with a Staten Island elementary school chorus while American writer Cornelius Eady, whose writing delves into matters of race and society, read a poem titled Proof before Singh asked everyone to join the party. Labh Janjua’s ‘Mundian to bach ke rahi’, famously remixed by Jay Z, also made an appearance on the playlist – all of it a nod to the multiplicity of New York.