Mustafa Ahmed was born in Toronto, Ontario to Sudanese parents. When 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. During this time, Mustafa was known for writing poems about poverty in Africa, and poverty in the Regent 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 to gun violence and street gangs.
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. He then went on to produce the spoken word poetry film Spectrum of Hope in September 2014. It was a collaborative project between him and Thompson Egbo-Egbo. He was featured on CBC News in which he explores the connection between art and athletics in his Pan Am poem with Heather Hiscox. He gained national recognition for a poem that was shared by Drake on his Instagram in January 2015 in which he tagged Mustafa. With the death of Muhammad Ali, Mustafa wrote a poem to "honour his hero". Ahmed performed the poem that came from that writing on Metro Morning, a CBC Radio One local morning program in Toronto. As a 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 in October 2016. He went on to provide background vocals and co-writing the song "Attention" by The Weeknd on the latter's album Starboy. 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. Mustafa was placed on Now's list of Toronto musicians to watch for in 2017.
Mustafa performed at the Fast in the 6 festival at Nathan Phillips Square held on June 1, 2018. In July 2018, he paid condolences to his deceased associate, Smoke Dawg, who had been gunned down on June 31, 2018, in front of a Toronto nightclub. In March 2019, Pierpaolo Piccioli collaborated with four poets, including Mustafa, for Valentino's autumn/winter 19 collections to celebrate love whose words were emblazoned in bright lights at the show. 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. 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". The dress with his poem went on to be worn by Emilia Clarke.
Mustafa the Poet produced and released Remember Me, Toronto, a short Canadian documentary film about the hip hop culture in Canada. The film was released on 17 March 2019. The film was a project created for artists in this video and everyone in the Canadian hip hop communities It discusses the loss of people due to the increasing gun violence and homicide rates in Toronto over the past decade. 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." In the film, the artists reflect on the inter-generational nature of trauma and gun violence. 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.
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. He went on to title all the songs in Frank Dukes Parkscapes sample pack released in June 2019. 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.
On March 10, 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. 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 March 2020.
Capo
Mustafa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
This place isn't ours anymore
I can't be alone
Oh, it all reminds me of our war
I try scrubbin' it off when I'm in the shower
I stare at myself in the mirror for hours
I've held it all in but I can't go much longer
And it's time (Southside, Southside, Southside)
(R.I.P. my nigga fifty shot NSK, free my nigga 10K)
(Shoutout Puffy L'z, my nigga 47, my nigga Poy)
Growin' up in, in, in, in my hood
You know what I'm sayin'?
I've lost a lot of people
And I can't let it go
This feelin' I have won't settle
Won't stop rainin', we're at sea level
And this pain is never gentle
It anchors me into the rubble
But I'm breathin' fine
Oh, I'm breathin' fine
(Awhoolay, Ano Gang)
And it's time (Eighty Seven hitters, nigga)
Time, oh
And it's time
Time, ayy (to pray)
(Southside, Southside, Southside)
Grievin' the birth of a new day
That's not a great place
That's not a great place
So, it's time
In the lyrics of Mustafa's song Capo, he talks about a feeling of displacement and loss in his hometown, which he describes as not being his anymore. He feels haunted by memories of "our war", something that he tries to scrub off in the shower. Mustafa has held all these emotions in for a long time but can no longer continue to do so. He talks about the pain not being gentle, something that anchors him into the rubble. Despite his struggle, he still continues to breathe fine. He speaks about the need for time to grieve and pray for those who have been lost.
Mustafa’s Capo was written as a tribute to lost friends who were gunned down in Toronto gang wars. The song is an emotive response to the senseless losses of people he grew up with in Canada, including Smoke Dawg and Koba Prime. The lyrics mention these figures, paying respect to their memory.
The song was written by Mustafa while he was still in high school, and he performed it at a memorial held for his friends. The song quickly became an unofficial anthem for celebrating their lives while mourning their deaths, and the Toronto rapper Drake eventually became a fan of the song.
The title of the song “Capo” is a slang term used in certain street cultures to refer to a high-ranking or respected figure within a gang or mob, a leader in organized crime.
Line by Line Meaning
Shadows and stones
The surroundings are unsettling and remind Mustafa of tragic events.
This place isn't ours anymore
The area has been lost to violence and pain, making it unrecognizable from the past.
I can't be alone
The emotions are difficult to face alone.
Oh, it all reminds me of our war
Thoughts of war and conflict come to mind when seeing the current state of this area.
I try scrubbin' it off when I'm in the shower
Mustafa tries to wash away the feeling of the past from his skin.
I stare at myself in the mirror for hours
The memories and emotions are so strong that they consume his thoughts for an extended period of time.
I've held it all in but I can't go much longer
Suppressing these emotions has been difficult and he feels as if he can no longer continue to do so.
And it's time (Southside, Southside, Southside)
It is the right moment to face these emotions and work towards healing.
It's time (R.I.P. my nigga Smoke Dawg)
(R.I.P. my nigga fifty shot NSK, free my nigga 10K)
(Shoutout Puffy L'z, my nigga 47, my nigga Poy)
Mustafa pays tribute to friends and loved ones who have passed away or are incarcerated due to the violence in their community.
Growin' up in, in, in, in my hood
You know what I'm sayin'?
I've lost a lot of people
Mustafa comes from a neighborhood that has suffered a significant amount of loss due to violence and conflict.
And I can't let it go
This feelin' I have won't settle
The emotions associated with these losses are persistent and cannot be easily dismissed.
Won't stop rainin', we're at sea level
The constant stream of negative experiences accompanying life in this area is exhausting and difficult to escape.
And this pain is never gentle
It anchors me into the rubble
But I'm breathin' fine
Oh, I'm breathin' fine
(Awhoolay, Ano Gang)
The trauma and pain weigh heavily on him, but he is still alive and trying to move forward.
And it's time (Eighty Seven hitters, nigga)
Time, oh
And it's time
Time, ayy (to pray)
(Southside, Southside, Southside)
It is necessary to face these emotions and move towards a greater sense of healing and community, with a nod to those who have been affected by the violence.
Grievin' the birth of a new day
That's not a great place
That's not a great place
So, it's time
Mustafa is mourning the tragedies of the past, but recognizes that it is time to create a brighter future for himself and his community.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: MUSTAFA AHMED, SAMPHA SISAY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@viola7052
I haven't cried in a while, but this song and your voices have me sobbing...the entire album is beautiful
@docdami
Same idk
Why
@flavorofthemonth1499
RIP Smoke Dawg. Gone but never forgotten and that's love from ATL. he'd be proud Mustafa. he is.
@robertfrost1553
He is such an underrated artist we need musicians like him
@hartz9921
Every song of Mustafas just seems composed to instigate mesmerisation. Literally every song has meaning, hope this never changes.
@marti886
mustara with sampha. we need that joint album, for real. ❤
@namarigahmed9036
Mustafa, you are so talented mashaAllah. Your voice and Sampha's though, wow. No words.
@pummie
Listening to Mustafa always gives me Sampha vibes. What a gift to hear them both on the same track. ♡
@Usmansayeed292
Playing this on whilst thinking about the oppressed in Palestine. May victory be with them and all of the oppressed. InshaAllah. Thank you Akh
@marycoulter8123
Beautiful, deep, it pulls the emotion out.