Brooklyn rapper Paperboy Prince isn’t only the youngest candidate in the crowded mayoral race, but also the least conventional.
A non-binary 28-year-old, Prince fashions themselves a new face for the city. (Prince uses the pronouns they/them or god/goddess.) If Prince gets the required number of signatures to put them on the ballot for the June Democratic primary, the young artist will be in the running to become the youngest mayor in the city’s history, beating out 34-year-old John Purroy Mitchel, who took office in 1913.
Prince’s resumé includes a stint as a newspaper delivery worker — hence the name Paperboy — as well as experience as an artist, rapper, activist, street performer, web designer, fashion model, and entrepreneur. Prince has had some experience in politics, having worked as a County Committee representative, held internships at the US House of Representatives and Supreme Court, and run against Brooklyn Rep. Nydia Velazquez for the north Brooklyn congressional seat last summer. Prince lost the race against Velazquez, but the defeat left them undeterred in their quest to change the city, Prince said.
