Watch Philadelphia’s Mayor Cover ‘Rapper’s Delight’ with The Roots

There’s one thing every politician should know if they want to succeed in the rough-and-tumble world of Philadelphia politics — all the words to “Rapper’s Delight.” That’s the takeaway from a new video where Philly mayor Michael Nutter jumped on stage with local boys-turned-The Tonight Show house band The Roots to perform the Sugarhill Gang’s classic rap song.

The mayor didn’t miss a beat as he spit out the rhymes on stage at the 4th of July celebration at the Wawa Welcome America! festival. He walked the stage like a pro, throwing down verses, and even dropped the mic at the end after nailing the performance. There’s no doubt that the mayor’s performance was way better than the time then-NBC anchor Brian Williams “rapped” the Sugarhill Gang’s classic. As Uproxx points out, there’s a reason that Nutter is so good at this: before he started a career in business and politics, he worked in the city’s nightclubs and had performed the song before.