The Bronx School of Hip-Hop opened in early September 2026 in the Claremont section of the Bronx. XXL reported September 30 that Nas and NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani discuss it in a short documentary on the Mayor's Office YouTube channel.
What it is
XXL describes it as a first-of-its-kind public high school that uses hip-hop culture to teach standard subjects: math, science, history, literature. Jason Reyes is the founding principal. The reporting doesn't list grade levels or enrollment, so don't quote numbers you can't source.
The people in the room
Mamdani used to rap as Mr. Cardamom, per XXL, and he cites Nas among his top five. The Mayor is quoted saying New York can't be content with being hip-hop's birthplace and wants to be its home. Reyes says the school validates that the culture means something. Nas keeps it on the kids: it's about helping the youth avoid the mistakes so many people made.
Why we're watching
Black and brown kids in the Bronx made this culture with no budget, and for decades the school system treated it as a problem. Now the city is building a classroom around it. That's a real shift, and it's also a test. Curriculum is only as good as the teachers and the money behind it. If the school gets resources and keeps its identity, it becomes a model other cities copy. If it becomes a photo op, the kids notice first.
Hip-hop is in its fifth decade. Putting it in a syllabus isn't the end of the story. Who writes the syllabus is.
Built for the culture. Operated from San Diego. Run by PHRHX through Sneakz & Beatz LLC. Black-owned, four pillars: sneakers, hip-hop, anime, gaming.
## Sources - XXL, Nas and Mayor Mamdani on the Bronx School of Hip-Hop, Sept. 30, 2026

