The poet, a songwriter for artists including the Weeknd, explains how music helped him explore the loss of friends to inner-city violence: ‘Sorrow is meant to be experienced and felt’
On his debut solo album, the Toronto artist formerly known as Mustafa the Poet confronts grief and dispossession over understated production with folk-music overtones.
Highsnobiety Soundsystem Co-Signs… Mustafa
Highsnobiety / Yasin Osman
Playlisted: Stay Alive, Air Forces, Ali
Mustafa Ahmed has been known as many things: spoken-word poet; folk singer; pop songwriter; documentary filmmaker; devout Muslim; Halal Gang representative; spokesperson for his Regent Park community; child of Sudanese immigrants; former member of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Youth Advisory Board; one time Pan American Games Poet Laureate; collaborator of acts like Majid Jordan, The Weeknd and Khalid; brother; friend; provider.
When he was younger, Mustafa was able to drift through sub-communities and spaces - mosques, playgrounds and theatres - that served various aspects of the identity he was carving for himself without being labeled as any one thing, or confined to a singular narrative. However, as his visibility has grown, he’s found that the understanding and allowance of what he refers to as a “fullness of experience” has shrunken.
No matter how far from Toronto he goes, SAFE s music always embodies Esplanade
The neighbourhood s dynamic vibe, which he calls beautiful but grimy, runs through Saif Musaad s songs.
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The neighbourhood s dynamic vibe, which he calls beautiful but grimy, runs through Saif Musaad s songs
Posted: Apr 30, 2021 12:00 PM ET | Last Updated: April 30
Saif Musaad, a.k.a. SAFE.(Supplied)
Black Light is a column by Governor General Award-winning writer Amanda Parris that spotlights, champions and challenges art and popular culture that is created by Black people and/or centres Black people. While Amanda is away on maternity leave, a different writer will be featured in a guest edition of the column each month. This month s edition is an essay by writer Huda Hassan.