New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani tapped Mysonne Linen, formerly incarcerated rapper, to lead his City Hall transition team on public safety, according to reports.
Until Freedom, a New York City-based social justice group, announced in late November that Linen would lead the group.
“We are proud that Until Freedom leaders have been chosen to serve on Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani’s transition team on committees for public safety and criminal justice respectively,” the post read on Instagram.
Until Freedom describes itself as a nonprofit dedicated to “community activism, education, and rapid response to tragedies resulting from injustice.”
“We are not asking for a donation, we are asking for your investment; an investment in a movement worthy of the most marginalized people.”
“This is a testament to our decades of work advocating on behalf of Black and Brown communities and our expertise in gun violence prevention, legislative advocacy, and criminal justice reform. We are building something different,” the Until Freedom post read.
Fox News wrote:
Over the years, Linen has built a public presence as a community activist, frequently posting about anti-violence initiatives and civic engagement, and promoting his involvement with Until Freedom.
According to past reports, Linen, a Bronx native who was once signed to Def Jam, was convicted of two felony robberies in the late 1990s.
A Bronx jury in 1999 found Linen guilty of two armed robberies of taxi drivers, according to the New York Daily News. Linen was part of a group that robbed cab driver Joseph Exiri in 1997, hitting the driver with a beer bottle, and then he robbed cab driver Francisco Monsanto in 1998, taking his cash and a ring before fleeing.
Reports at the time argued that he had no reason to rob these cab drivers because of the money he earned from writing songs for artists such as Lil’ Kim and Mase. He could have served up to 25 years in prison, but only served seven.
Read the full article here