Jennifer Lopez walked into one of New York City’s oldest arguments this week, and she came prepared.
The Bronx-born singer and actress is the guest on Episode 720 of SubwayTakes, the NYC podcast created by Kareem Rahma and Andrew Kuo. The episode’s central question, straight from the title: “You have to be born in New York to be a New Yorker.”
If anyone has the standing to weigh in on that, it’s Lopez.
She grew up in the Castle Hill neighborhood of the Bronx. Before the world tours, the movie sets, the Las Vegas residencies – she was just a kid from the block. That origin story has always been core to who she is. She’s invoked the Bronx in countless interviews, and the borough has never stopped claiming her back.
SubwayTakes built its reputation on exactly this kind of raw, unfiltered New York argument. Rahma’s format puts real people – celebrities, commuters, anyone with an opinion – in front of a camera and lets the conversation run. No teleprompter energy. No PR-approved softballs. The kind of talk that used to happen on actual subway platforms. Back before everyone had headphones in.
Past episodes have pulled in a mix of city regulars and bigger names, always with the same setup: say what you actually think. It works. New York runs on that energy.
The show’s Instagram account announced the episode this week, posting “Episode 720: You have to be born in New York to be a New Yorker!!” with Lopez tagged directly. The announcement drew more than 238,000 likes. The full episode hadn’t even dropped yet.
That number makes sense. The born-here-or-not question is a rite of passage for anyone who’s ever moved to New York and tried to call it home. People who’ve lived there for 20 years still get told they’re not really New Yorkers. Meanwhile, plenty of born-and-raised kids left before their 25th birthday. The debate has no clean answer. That’s exactly why it never dies.
Lopez has lived in New York, Los Angeles, and elsewhere at different points in her career. That history might actually make her the ideal guest for this episode – someone who can speak to what the city gives you and what it actually takes to be claimed by it.
Rahma built SubwayTakes alongside Andrew Kuo, and the show has grown into one of the more distinctive voices in New York’s podcast world. Episode 720 credits Tyler Bat as creative producer and editor, with Madyson Hearsh and Ramy Shafi as associate producers and a full camera crew on set.
No air date for the full episode has been publicly confirmed beyond the Instagram announcement. The audience, going by those numbers, is already ready.