Uproxx’s Jeremy Hecht Explains How Jadakiss And Zohran Mamdani Made New York City History
Written by b87fm on 01/22/2026
Zohran Mamdani’s inauguration as mayor of New York City was historic for multiple reasons: He’s the youngest mayor in NYC history and the first Muslim mayor the city has ever had. As Uproxx’s Jeremy Hecht points out, he’s also the first mayor to reference a member of The Lox during his inauguration speech.
Mamdani said:
“And throughout it all, ‘We will’ — in the words of Jason Terrence Phillips, better known as Jadakiss or ‘Ja’ to the mwah’ — ‘be outside.’”
Jeremy notes, “This referenced an iconic moment during Jadakiss’ Verzuz battle where he got on stage and said this: ‘New York, the real New York: I’m outside. I don’t live in Miami, I don’t live in Colorado. Come to my block and see me. This is ‘Kiss, I’m outside.’”
Furthermore, later in 2020, he teamed up with Itsbizkit and DreamDoll on “Outside Wit It” and said on his verse, “My whole life changed, we at the cookouts, we at the dice games / We outside, n****.”
Jeremy concludes, “Jadakiss proves that he still lives by that motto, creating this incredible video of him walking around New York City on New Year’s Eve, letting you know he is still outside. It feels like New York is about to go on a run. But more than anything, I think it’s time for a new Jadakiss album.”
Check out the video above.
