With Election Day and L.A.’s mayoral race nearing its end, candidate Nithya Raman, members of the Democratic Party and Democratic Socialists of America decided that now is the best time to drop a diss track.
While the councilwoman is not a rapper herself, Raman has recruited L.A. native My Favorite Color, real name Anthony Willis, to write and produce a diss track for none other than her opponent, incumbent Karen Bass.
Willis posted the song to social media on Oct. 30 with the caption, “Democracy Won’t Ruin Itself! ? Don’t forget to vote y’all,” along with a disclaimer stating the diss track was commissioned for the 2026 mayoral election through the California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC). In just a couple of days, the diss track post has accumulated over 18,000 likes and 233,000 views.
Throughout the song’s less than two-minute duration, My Favorite Color condemns Mayor Bass for her response to the January 2025 wildfires and the city’s homelessness crisis, with lyrics referencing Bass’s Inside Safe housing program and the rise in homelessness under Bass.
“Inside safe, outside dangerous. Homeless rates went up eightish,” the song says.
The track also calls Bass a “coward” for her alleged deficiencies in attendance at meetings, rapping that she “skipped half of her oversight meetings,” before going on to label her supporters as “weirdos.”
Bass’s absence from Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) commission meetings has been a major criticism in the mayoral race. Bass appointed herself head of the commission in 2023.
According to an LAist review of public records from August, Bass missed 13 out of the 21 LAHSA commission meetings held between mid-August 2025 and August 2026. Under the agency’s bylaws, her attendance record could have had her removed from the commission. While her three-year term technically expired on June 30, she officially stepped down from the LAHSA commission in September due to scheduling conflicts and the shift towards a city-led homelessness response.
My Favorite Color makes what is most likely a reference to Kendrick Lamar’s song “Savior” when he raps, “Bro, I pinky promise Karen Bass ain’t your savior.”
The song also accuses Bass of imitating New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani by filling in a viral pothole on Melrose Avenue and Gardner Street after journalist Simone Boyce tagged Bass in a social media post. The song labels the moment a failed photo-op attempt, with lyrics saying, “Tried to fill a pothole, but a car stopped her. Bro, you ain’t Zohran you need to stop right here.”
Outside of this diss track, media outlets like the New York Times, Politico and the New York Post have frequently compared Raman mayoral campaign to Mamdani due to them both being fellow Democratic Socialists of America.
As the diss track concludes, one of the final lines brings up a recent lawsuit between California rapper Ovrkast and legendary rap duo OutKast. Willis said, “They’re mixing up Ovrkast and OutKast, but they never mixed up a good mayor with Karen Bass.”
The video ends with a disclaimer from My Favorite Color.
“Go vote bro,” the artist said. “This isn’t about me, nor is it about them. It’s about us, and it’s time for us to make a change. Karen [Bass] has proven time and time again that she’ll make promises just to break them.”
As of now, Bass has not commented or dropped a diss track in reprisal.
According to recent UC Berkeley IGS / Los Angeles Times polls, the mayoral race appears to be in an overall deadlock between the two candidates, with Bass closing the gap on Raman. Final campaign efforts are set to continue into Tuesday’s Election Day.
This Sunday, both of the mayoral candidates made public appearances, with Raman rallying campaign volunteers in the San Fernando Valley and Bass casting her ballot in Koreatown with her family.
The post Nithya Raman Commissions Diss Track of Karen Bass as Mayoral Election Looms appeared first on LAmag.
