50 Cent has claimed that New York City Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani plans to defund the police and “purge” the Big Apple when he takes office in January 2026.
The rapper has been a longtime critic of Mamdani’s proposal to hike the city’s corporate tax rate and impose a two percent tax on New Yorkers whose annual salary exceeds $1 million. If he proceeds with the plans, the newly elected mayor plans to allocate the funds raised to public services.
Mamdani, a self-described “Democratic Socialist,” publicly responded to 50 Cent’s criticisms on Tuesday, the same day New Yorkers headed to the polls and handed him a landslide victory.
"What I would say to you, 50, if you are indeed watching or anyone else is watching…I continue to think that having the top 1 percent of New York City or making more than a million dollars a year, having them pay 2 percent more for an economic agenda that would transform every New Yorker's life, including their own, is something that is worthwhile," Mamdani told MSNBC.
He went on to joke that “even though we have a disagreement on tax policy, every time I get a death threat, I still listen to 'Many Men.'"
Many Men is one of 50 Cent’s most iconic songs and has been certified triple platinum. The track, which was featured on his debut album Get Rich or Die Trying, documents the rapper’s near-death experiences, which include being shot 9 times in 2000.
However, the spat clearly remains no laughing matter for 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, 50.
“I think his intentions are good, but his Tax plan is gonna run the big money out of the city and if he defunds the police they are gonna purge,” he raged on Instagram, attaching a video of Mamdani’s interview.
His post referenced a social media post made by Mamdani in 2020. At the time, Mamdani wrote “#DefundTheNYPD.”
He has since backed away from this and confirmed, “I am not defunding the police,” to reporters at a news conference in July, according to Politico.
50 Cent was slammed in the comments section for criticizing Mamdani’s tax plans, with one user demanding, “Pay your fair share, big dawg.”
Another said, “50 got rich and forgot the struggle.”
The rapper has previously offered to give Mamdani “$258,750 and a first-class one-way ticket away from NY.”
In the same post, he asked, “Where did he come from? Whose friend is this? I’m not feeling this plan,” as he bemoaned the New York City mayor’s plan to raise taxes.
“I’m telling Trump what he said too!" he threatened.
When it became clear that Mamdani’s plan had gone over well with voters and that he had won the mayoral race, 50 Cent claimed that “New York is over” in a post that included the Yankees being shoved into a garbage can.
Later, he shared an AI-generated tombstone that read “RIP New York,” before posting one final, furious message.
"3 words: No funding coming ! NYC finished," he wrote.
Jackson has not been a resident of New York City since 2021, when he moved to Houston to swap the Big Apple for the Lone Star State. At the time, he complained about President Joe Biden’s tax plans in one of his now-iconic angry social media rants.
“WHAT THE F*** (VOTE ForTRUMP) IM OUT,” he said, before he moved to Houston.
