Cardi B Teams Up With NYC Mayor for 2-K Jingle Contest: Encouraging Free Childcare Awareness
Bronx rapper Cardi B partners with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to launch a jingle contest promoting the 2-K childcare initiative.
From her roots in the New York City public school system to now raising her own children, Cardi B has strong reasons to support Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s 2-K initiative, which aims to provide free childcare for 2-year-olds.
On Friday, April 3rd, the mayor and Cardi B announced a citywide contest seeking catchy 15- and 30-second jingles to encourage families to apply for the 2-K program. Cardi B will assist in selecting the finalists, after which New Yorkers will vote for the winning song.
In a video accompanying the announcement, the mayor meets with the Bronx rapper. Cardi B exclaims, “Can you believe that?! We have a 34-year-old mayor! I feel like I’m a kid, and you’re, like, running New York!”
Mamdani gets straight to the point, asking, “Cardi, what do you think of free childcare?”
The Grammy-winning artist, a mother of four, responds, “I feel like free childcare is very important. Sometimes us women, we can’t really go forward because we don’t have nobody to help us take care of our kids.”
The mayor then explains, “This fall, we’re starting to deliver universal 2-K, which is just like pre-K, just like 3-K, but 2-K for 2-year-olds. Free childcare, 2,000 seats in the fall, and there’s gonna be seats in the Bronx starting it up. Enrollment actually starts in June, and we had a question for you: We’re going to have a competition to create a jingle, so New Yorkers are going to submit their best jingle, and we wanted to know if you would help judge that competition!”
Cardi enthusiastically agrees, adding, “The mayor’s going to help you! And I’m gonna judge, and he’s going to give because he’s the one with the funds!”
Watch the announcement video:
"As Cardi B says: ‘I can get ’em both. I don’t wanna choose,'" Mayor Mamdani stated, quoting Cardi B’s “Bodak Yellow.” “With universal child care, New Yorkers won’t have to. For too long, families have been forced to choose between affordable care and staying in the city they love. Now, they can have both—free care in the greatest city in the world.”
Submissions for the jingle contest can be made via New York City’s website, where the rules and guidelines are available. The deadline for submissions is April 17. The winning jingle will become the official theme for the program and will be played on the radio. Entrants are encouraged to share their tunes online using the hashtag #NYC2KJingle and tag @nycmayor.
Mamdani initially announced the 2-K program early in his mayoral term, aiming to provide free childcare for NYC families with 2-year-olds, regardless of financial or immigration status. The program will launch with 2,000 seats across four districts: Fordham (Bronx), Washington Heights (Manhattan), Southeast Queens, and Canarsie (Brooklyn). Enrollment runs from June 2 to June 26.
This collaboration follows Cardi B’s history of political advocacy and support for the Democratic party. She has also shown love for her home city in various ways, including recording subway safety PSAs for the MTA in September.
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