Mustafa the Poet

Mustafa Ahmed (born (1996-07-28)July 28, 1996), better known by his stage names Mustafa the Poet and Mustafa, is a poet, singer, songwriter and filmmaker from Toronto, Ontario.

Mustafa the Poet
Born
Mustafa Ahmed

(1996-07-28) July 28, 1996
Toronto, Ontario
NationalityCanadian
Occupation
Years active2016–present
Musical career
Genres
InstrumentsVocals
Years active2016–present
Associated acts

Biography

1996–2013: Early life and career beginnings

Mustafa Ahmed was born in Toronto, Ontario to Sudanese parents. Whilst he was in grade 7, he performed an original piece, "A Single Rose", at Nelson Mandela Park Public School. The piece got a lot of attention, earning him high praises at Toronto's Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival in 2009.[1] During this time, Mustafa was known for writing poems about poverty in Africa, and poverty in the Regents Park area. He had a rough upbringing in his hometown, located in Toronto's rough Regent Park area where he attended Regents Park School. Despite his young age, Mustafa was a witness of gun violence and street gangs.[2]

2014–2017: Career beginnings

Mustafa first gained recognition in 2014 at the age of 18, by featuring on Lorraine Segato's single "Rize Time", a remix of her band's own song "Rise Up", in which he performs a spoken word poem on the prelude.[3] He then went on to produce the spoken word poetry film Spectrum of Hope in September 2014.[4] It was a collaborative project between him and Thompson Egbo-Egbo.[5] He was featured on CBC News in which he explores the connection between art and athletics in his Pan Am poem with Heather Hiscox.[6][7]. He gained national recognition for a poem which was shared by Drake on his Instagram in January 2015 in which he tagged Mustafa.[8][9] With the death of Muhammad Ali, Mustafa wrote a poem to "honor his hero". Ahmed performed the poem that came from that writing on Metro Morning, a CBC Radio One local morning program in Toronto.[6] As member of Canadian hip hop collective Halal Gang, Mustafa has made appearances in a number of music videos for his associates, including the single "Feel" by Safe released on October 2016.[10] He went on to provide background vocals and co-writing the song "Attention" by The Weeknd on the latter's album Starboy.[11] In the same year, Mustafa was appointed to Justin Trudeau's Youth Advisory Council, advising the Prime Minister and the Government of Canada on policies and programs that are important to them.[12][13] Mustafa was placed on Now's list of Toronto musicians to watch for in 2017.[14]

2018–present: Remember Me, Toronto and "Stay Alive"

Mustafa performed at the Fast in the 6 festival at Nathan Phillips Square held on 1 June 2018. In July 2018, he paid condolences to his deceased associate, Smoke Dawg, who had been gunned down on 31 June 2018 in front of a Toronto nightclub.[15] In March 2019, Pierpaolo Piccioli collaborated with four poets, including Mustafa, for Valentino's autumn/winter 19 collection to celebrate love whose words were emblazoned in bright lights at the show.[16] A transcript by Mustafa from his poem "From the Perspective of Black Love" read "In your eyes I can see an eternity" as part of the collection.[17][17][18] He describes attending the show as an emotional experience, seeing women in creations made for their bodies.[19][20][21] Vogue described the event as "poetry back in fashion".[22] The dress with his poem went on to be worn by Emilia Clarke.[23]

Mustafa the Poet produced and released Remember Me, Toronto, a short Canadian documentary film about the hip hop culture in Canada.[24] The film was released on 17 March 2019.[25] The film was a project created for artists in this video and everyone in the Canadian hip hop communities.[26] It discusses the losing of people due to the increasing gun violence and homicide rates in Toronto over the past decade.[27] Mustafa aimed to discuss the systemic structure working against the lower economies of Toronto and wanted to give these artists the opportunity to "rewrite their memories and the memories of those they lost."[28] In the film, the artists reflect on the inter generational nature of trauma and gun violence.[29][30] Artists appearing in the short include Drake, Baka Not Nice, Gilla, Pilla B, TJin, Pressa, Loco City, Smiley, Top 5, Blockboi, Twitch, Jay Whiss, Puffy L'z, Rax, Booggz, Yung Lava, Mustafa the Poet himself and archival footage from the murdered artist Smoke Dawg. Noah "40" Shebib scored the movie.[31][32]

Mustafa was noted as one of the 10 Canadian songwriters who are penning the biggest hit songs right now by CBC Music in April 2019.[33] He went on to title all the songs in Frank Dukes Parkscapes sample pack released on June 2019.[34] The sample pack went on to be used on Taylor Swift's album "Lover" in which the Regent Park School will get royalties every time the album is brought, streamed or sampled.[35]

On 10 March 2020, Mustafa released his debut single "Stay Alive". The single was dedicated to those he's lost to gun violence and was known for capturing Regent's Park resiliency.[36][37] The single was produced by Frank Dukes and James Blake.[38] The single featured numerous cameos from Toronto rappers including Halal Gang members Puffy L'z and Mo-G as well as Lil Berete.[39] It was known for including lyrics about resilience, community, and the bleak realities of living on the fringes pair perfectly.[40][41] The single prompted Complex to list Mustafa on the list of Best New Artists of the March, 2020.[42]

Discography

Singles
  • 2020: "Stay Alive"[40]

Credits
YearArtistAlbumSongRole
2016Brendan CanningHome Wrecking Years[43]/Vocals
2018The WeekndStarboy"Attention"Writer
Camila Cabello Camila"All These Years"[44]Composer
"She Loves Control"[45]Songwriter

Filmography
Film and television
Year Title Role Notes
2019Remember Me, Toronto[46]-Producer and Director
gollark: They are gods, they can MAKE food with godness.
gollark: What a very sensible policy.
gollark: I know that for purposes only. How are these related anyway?
gollark: Also campanologist (bell-ringer) in English.
gollark: Really? Undergo plate tectonics I guess.

References
  1. "Get To Know Mustafa The Poet, The Spoken-Word Prodigy Who's on the Weeknd's "Attention"". The FADER.
  2. https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2009/06/07/meet_torontos_little_poet_man.html
  3. "Singer-Songwriter Lorraine Segato is Regent Park Neighbourhood's First Artist in Residence". businesswire.com. 21 August 2014.
  4. "Spectrum of Hope" – via YouTube.
  5. "A Poem in Praise of Regent Park". Torontoist. 16 September 2014.
  6. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/programs/metromorning/toronto-teen-mustafa-ahmed-honours-his-hero-muhammad-ali-with-poem-1.3618114
  7. "Pan Am poet laureate: Mustafa Ahmed" – via YouTube.
  8. Golembewski, Vanessa. "Drake's Latest Instagram Gives Us A Peek at His Love Life". refinery29.com.
  9. "@champagnepapi on Instagram: "@mustafathepoet"". Instagram.
  10. Staff, MTV News. "Toronto World: Drake, Halal Gang, and the Diaspora in the 6". MTV News.
  11. "7 Hidden Details on the Weeknd's Starboy". The FADER.
  12. "Outstanding Muslim Youths appointed to Prime Minister's Youth Council". 29 September 2016.
  13. "These 15 young Canadians have been chosen to advise Prime Minister Trudeau". dailyhive.com.
  14. Ritchie, Kevin (31 January 2017). "Toronto musicians to watch in 2017: hip-hop edition". NOW Magazine.
  15. "Rapper Smoke Dawg shot dead in Toronto". 1 July 2018.
  16. Ahmed, Osman (4 March 2019). "valentino wears its heart on its sleeve".
  17. "#SuzyPFW: Valentino: Poetry Inhabits Dreamlike Collection". British Vogue.
  18. "Valentino Spreads the Love". ELLE. 4 March 2019.
  19. Katz, Evan Ross (4 March 2019). "Mustafa the Poet On Helping Pierpaolo Piccioli Bring Valentino FW19 To Life".
  20. Foley, Bridget; Foley, Bridget (4 March 2019). "Valentino RTW Fall 2019".
  21. "Poet, Drake Collaborator Mustafa Ahmed on Writing 'From the Perspective of Black Love' for Valentino". Complex.
  22. "Why Poetry Is Back in Fashion". British Vogue.
  23. "Emilia Clarke's Game of Thrones premiere dress displayed a poetic message". 4 April 2019.
  24. Johnson, Jasmine (19 March 2019). "Mustafa the Poet delivers Remember Me, Toronto (short film)".
  25. "Remember Me, Toronto". 17 March 2019. Retrieved 22 March 2020 – via YouTube.
  26. "Drake Features in 'Remember Me, Toronto' Short Film: Watch Here". Highsnobiety. 18 March 2019.
  27. Johnson, Jasmine (19 March 2019). "Drake is Featured on Mustafa the Poet's 'Remember Me, Toronto' Film".
  28. Atad, Corey (18 March 2019). "Drake Featured In 'Remember Me, Toronto' Short Film About Gun Violence From Mustafa The Poet".
  29. "Drake, BAKA NOT NICE & More Speak About Toronto's Gun Violence in Mustafa the Poet's 'Remember Me, Toronto'". HYPEBEAST.
  30. "Rappers remember lives lost in Remember Me, Toronto". HipHopCanada. 17 March 2019.
  31. "Drake Featured in Mustafa The Poet's Short Film 'Remember Me, Toronto' | 97.7 WRBJ". Thebeatofthecapital.com. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  32. MVP, Viral. "Remember Me Toronto Drake OVO Sound Documentary Video". OnSMASH.
  33. https://www.cbc.ca/music/10-canadian-songwriters-who-are-penning-the-biggest-hit-songs-right-now-1.5107411
  34. "Frank Dukes Collaborates with Toronto's Regent Park School of Music for New Sample Pack". Exclaim!.
  35. "14 Canadian Students Made It Onto Taylor Swift's New Album". HuffPost. 26 August 2019.
  36. Holmes, Charles; Holmes, Charles (11 March 2020). "Mustafa's 'Stay Alive' Beautifully (and Unintentionally) Soundtracks the Pandemic".
  37. "Toronto's Mustafa Captures Regent Park Resiliency with "Stay Alive"". Exclaim!.
  38. "Mustafa Shares Soulful Debut Single 'Stay Alive'". HYPEBEAST.
  39. "Mustafa shares the powerful 'Stay Alive'". The FADER.
  40. "Mustafa Serenades with a Poetic Anti-Gun Violence Medley On "Stay Alive"". HotNewHipHop.
  41. "Mustafa Takes His Anti-Gun Message To Toronto's Regent Park On Debut Single "Stay Alive"". Complex.
  42. https://www.complex.com/pigeons-and-planes/2020/03/best-new-artists-march/mustafa
  43. https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mustapha-the-poet-mn0003582785
  44. https://www.musicnotes.com/sheet-music/artist/mustafa-ahmed/instrument/keyboard/piano/album/camila-cabello---camila
  45. "Camila – Camila Cabello | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic.
  46. "Drake, BAKA NOT NICE & More Speak About Toronto's Gun Violence in Mustafa the Poet's 'Remember Me, Toronto'". HYPEBEAST.
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