With his city among the most diverse in the world, New York’s Mayor Bill de Blasio should have tastes to match.
Tomorrow, de Blasio squares off against Lisa Hanna, Miss World 1993 and Jamaican Member of Parliament, in the Celebrity Quick-Fire Challenge, at the annual Grace Jamaican Jerk Festival.
The event takes place at Roy Wilkins Park in Queens.
The mayor is a two-time champ, having previously won the Dutch Pot Trophy in 2013 and 2014. He defeated actor Leon and Miss Jamaica Universe 2014 Kaci Fennell on those occasions.
According to de Blasio, he has been a fan of jerk before it went mainstream in the ’90s.
“I first tasted jerk food at the Caribbean Parade on Eastern Parkway in 1989, during (David) Dinkins’ mayoral campaign. Favourite jerk I’ve ever had is at Jerk City Restaurant on Utica Avenue in Brooklyn,” he told Observer by email.
Elected mayor in 2014, de Blasio is married to Chirlane McCray who has West Indian heritage. A big reggae fan since his college years, he and his wife attended a Bunny Wailer concert at BB King Blues Club and Grill in Times Square last year.
He lists the following as albums he would listen to on a long flight:
The Harder They Come Soundtrack 1973;
Live! Bob Marley and the Wailers, 1975;
Babylon by Bus, Bob Marley, 1978;
Handsworth Revolution, Steel Pulse, 1978;
96 Degrees in The Shade, Third World, 1980;
Live in Essen, Black Uhuru, 1981.
