# Mustafa the Poet

Mustafa Ahmed (born 28 July 1996), known as Mustafa, formerly known as Mustafa the Poet, is a Canadian poet, singer, songwriter, and filmmaker from Toronto. He released his debut EP, When Smoke Rises, in May 2021. His debut album, Dunya, was released September 27, 2024.

## Early life

Mustafa Ahmed was born in Toronto, Ontario to Sudanese parents. He grew up in Regent Park, one of Toronto's oldest housing projects. Gun violence and street gangs were part of his childhood. Mustafa attended Regent Park Duke of York Public School.
Mustafa first came to fame for his poetry. He was inspired to write by his older sister, who taught him the healing effects of poetry at a young age. When he was in the seventh grade, Mustafa performed an original piece, "A Single Rose", at Nelson Mandela Park Public School. It attracted praise at Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival in 2009.

## Career
### 2014–2016: Poetry and Halal Gang

Mustafa was first profiled in the Toronto Star at the age of 12, which highlighted his ability to describe and connect white and non-Black audiences to the gritty side of Toronto.
On October 4, 2014, Mustafa published "Rabba" with the Toronto-based artist collective Halal Gang. Members included Mustafa (aka Mustafa the Poet), Puffy L’z, Mo-G, Safe, and Smoke Dawg. As member of Canadian hip hop collective Halal Gang, he starred in a number of music videos, including the single "Feel" by Safe released in October 2016.
In 2016, Mustafa was appointed to Justin Trudeau's Youth Advisory Council.

### 2017–2019: Remember Me, Toronto

Poetry and film
Mustafa performed at the Fast in the 6 festival at Nathan Phillips Square held on 1 June 2018.
In March 2019, Italian fashion designer Pierpaolo Piccioli collaborated Mustafa and three other poets for Valentino's autumn/winter 2019 collection. A line from his poem "From the Perspective of Black Love" was featured as part of the collection. He describes attending the show as an emotional experience, seeing women in creations made for their bodies. Vogue described the event as "poetry back in fashion". His collaborations would be worn by Emilia Clarke at a Game of Thrones premiere.
Still under the name of Mustafa the Poet, he produced and released Remember Me, Toronto, a short Canadian documentary film about the hip hop culture in Canada in 17 March 2019. Created for the Canadian hip hop community, the documentary discusses the losing of people due to the increasing gun violence and homicide rates in Toronto over the past decade. Mustafa said that he 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." In the film, the artists reflect on the inter generational nature of trauma and gun violence. Artists featured included 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, and archival footage from the murdered artist Smoke Dawg.
Music and songwriting
Mustafa has co-written several popular singles as a songwriter, often closely collaborating with Toronto producer Frank Dukes.
In 2016, Mustafa would begin working with Dukes and co-wrote the song "Attention" by The Weeknd on the latter's album Starboy. Mustafa would also provide some background vocals. The following year, he co-wrote two tracks on Camila Cabello's debut album Camila, "All These Years" and the single "She Loves Control". He was featured on the Now's list of Toronto musicians to watch for in 2017. In 2019, he co-wrote the Jonas Brothers single "Sucker".
He went on to title all the songs in Frank Dukes Parkscapes sample pack released in June 2019, which would be used on Taylor Swift's album Lover. He dedicated part of the album's royalties to his alma mater, Regent Park School. That year, he was noted as "one of the 10 Canadian songwriters who are penning the biggest hit songs right now" by CBC Music. In 2020, he once again aided Frank Dukes in co-writing the Shawn Mendes and Justin Bieber single "Monster".

### 2020–present: When Smoke Rises

On 10 March 2020, Mustafa released his debut single "Stay Alive". The single was dedicated to those he'd lost to gun violence and was known for capturing Regent's Park resiliency. The single was produced by Frank Dukes and James Blake. The single featured numerous cameos from Toronto rappers including Halal Gang members Puffy L'z and Mo-G as well as Lil Berete. It was known for including lyrics about resilience, community, and the bleak realities of living on the fringes pair perfectly. The single prompted Complex to list Mustafa on the list of Best New Artists of the March 2020.
Mustafa released his debut EP When Smoke Rises on 28 May 2021. Described as "inner city folk music", the EP was written and produced with Simon on the Moon and Frank Dukes, along with James Blake, Jamie xx, and Sampha, among others. The EP won the 2022 Juno Award for Alternative Album of the Year and was shortlisted for the 2021 Polaris Music Prize.
Mustafa was featured on Metro Boomin's 2022 album Heroes & Villains, on the track "Walk Em Down (Don't Kill Civilians)", alongside rapper 21 Savage.
In July of 2023, Mustafa's older brother Mohamed Ahmed was killed in a shooting.
On January 4, 2024, Mustafa organized a benefit concert at the New Jersey Newark Symphony Hall for food and medical supply distribution in Gaza and Sudan with a number of artists including musicians Clairo, Daniel Caesar, Stormzy, comedian Ramy Youssef, and poets Hala Alyan and Safia Elhillo. The sold-out concert at the 3,500-person venue attracted more than 220,000 livestream views on Instagram. Concert proceeds went to the relief organization Human Concern International for Palestine.

## Discography
### Albums

| Title | Details |
| Dunya | Released: 27 September 2024 Label: Jagjaguwar Formats: LP, CD, digital |

### EP

| Title | Details |
| When Smoke Rises | Released: 28 May 2021 Label: Regent Park Songs Formats: LP, CD, digital |

### Singles

| Title | Year | Album |
| "Stay Alive" | 2020 | When Smoke Rises |
| "Air Forces" | 2020 | When Smoke Rises |
| "Ali" | 2021 | When Smoke Rises |
| "The Hearse" | 2021 | When Smoke Rises |
| "Name of God" | 2023 | Dunya |
| "Imaan" | 2024 | Dunya |
| "Gaza is Calling" | 2024 | Dunya |
| "SNL" | 2024 | Dunya |

### Other charted songs

List of other charted songs, with selected chart positions :
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Album |
| Title | Year | US | US R&B/HH | US Rap | CAN | WW | Album |
| "Walk Em Down (Don't Kill Civilians)" (Metro Boomin and 21 Savage featuring Mustafa) | 2022 | 52 | 19 | 12 | 28 | 59 | Heroes & Villains |

### Guest appearances

| Title | Year | Other artist(s) | Album |
| "Walk Em Down (Don't Kill Civilians)" | 2022 | Metro Boomin, 21 Savage | Heroes & Villains |
| "Toronto 2014" | 2023 | Daniel Caesar | Never Enough |
| "Plane Trees" | 2024 | Omar Apollo | God Said No |

### Songwriting credits

| Year | Artist | Album | Song |
| 2016 | Brendan Canning | Home Wrecking Years (credited as vocalist) | Home Wrecking Years (credited as vocalist) |
| 2016 | The Weeknd | Starboy | "Attention" |
| 2017 | BRIDGE | Wreck | "Lord Knows" |
| 2018 | Camila Cabello | Camila | "All These Years" |
| 2018 | Camila Cabello | Camila | "She Loves Control" |
| 2018 | Black Atlass | Pain & Pleasure | "Fantasy" |
| 2018 | Hello Yello | Love Wins | "Feel That Again" |
| 2019 | Jonas Brothers | Happiness Begins | "Sucker" |
| 2019 | SAFE | Stay | "No Rush" |
| 2019 | SAFE | Stay | "Red Light" |
| 2019 | SAFE | Stay | "Wasteland" |
| 2019 | SAFE | Stay | "Summer's End 2" |
| 2019 | SAFE | Stay | "Piano" |
| 2019 | SAFE | Stay | "Nobody Cares" |
| 2019 | SAFE | Stay | "R U Scared, Pt. 2" |
| 2019 | Majid Jordan | Non-album single | "Caught Up" (feat. Khalid) |
| 2020 | Shawn Mendes and Justin Bieber | Wonder | "Monster" |
| 2021 | Charlotte Day Wilson | Alpha | "Keep Moving" |
| 2021 | Nemahsis | Non-album single | "What If I Took It Off For You?" |
| 2023 | Omar Apollo | Non-album single | "3 Boys" |

## Filmography

Film and television :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2019 | Remember Me, Toronto | — | Producer and Director |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Ceremony | Award | Nominated work | Result |
| 2019 | 60th Grammy Awards | Best Urban Contemporary Album | Starboy (as songwriter) | Won |
| 2019 | 61st Grammy Awards | Best Pop Vocal Album | Camila (as songwriter) | Nominated |
| 2020 | BMI Pop Awards | Award Winning Song | "Sucker" (as songwriter) | Won |
| 2020 | SOCAN Awards | Pop Music Awards | "Sucker" (as songwriter) | Won |
| 2021 | SOCAN Awards | Pop Music Awards | "Monster" (as songwriter) | Won |
| 2021 | AIM Awards | Best Independent Track | "Air Forces" | Nominated |
| 2021 | 2021 Polaris Music Prize | Polaris Music Prize | When Smoke Rises | Shortlisted |
| 2022 | 2022 Juno Awards | Alternative Album of the Year | When Smoke Rises | Won |
| 2022 | 2022 Juno Awards | Songwriter of the Year | Himself | Nominated |
| 2022 | Prism Prize | Best Music Video | "Ali" (music video) | Won |
| 2022 | Prism Prize | Willie Dunn Award | Himself | Won |
| 2024 | Prism Prize | Best Music Video | "Name of God" | Won |