Mustafa maintains hope in darkish occasions. For this Tiny Desk, the Sudanese Canadian artist options materials from Dunya, the most effective albums of 2024, plus “Keep Alive,” an earlier music of his that he says turned “the thesis of the whole lot that I consider in.”
A proficient poet and songwriter, Mustafa has written for stars like Justin Bieber and The Weeknd — however as you see right here, his artistry shines most when he sings heart-wrenchingly lovely songs about his neighborhood. “I used to be born and raised within the largest housing challenge in North America,” he tells us. The depth of his feelings are palpable right here: pleasure as he playfully interacts with a Sudanese choir assembled for this efficiency, ache as his tender voice pleads over oud, guitar and cello, and devotion as he sings about his religion. Dylan Wiggins, a producer for Dunya, helped with these Tiny Desk preparations.
On the Desk, you will see a wide range of objects that commemorate his Sudanese heritage, but in addition a press vest — the type utilized by journalists reporting in fight zones. In Toronto, the police would name into venues and advocate canceling Mustafa’s early reveals, citing “security dangers.” That is when Mustafa started to distinction the white of his thawb with the bulletproof materials of a press vest emblazoned with the phrase POET. “Once I’m asking my boys to remain alive,” he says, “I am asking that, once they return from a struggle, they do not lose what makes them tender they usually do not lose what makes them tender. And that, to me, is a radical act.”
SET LIST
- “Identify of God”
- “I am going to Go Anyplace”
- “Keep Alive”
- “What Occurred, Mohamed?”
MUSICIANS
- Mustafa: vocals
- Fletcher Milloy: guitar, background vocals
- Yunus Iyriboz: oud, guitar
- Wesley Hornpetrie: cello
- SAFA: background vocals
- Dua Kheiry: background vocals
- Nadine El Roubi: background vocals
- Batool Ibrahim: background vocals
- Bousaina Ibrahim: background vocals
TINY DESK TEAM
- Producer: Elle Mannion
- Director/Editor: Joshua Bryant
- Audio Technical Director: Josh Newell
- Host/Sequence Producer: Bobby Carter
- Videographers: Joshua Bryant, Maia Stern, Kara Body
- Audio Engineer: Hannah Gluvna
- Audio Combine: Maggie Luthar
- Manufacturing Assistant: Dhanika Pineda
- Photographer: Grace Raver
- Sequence Editor: Lars Gotrich
- Govt Producer: Suraya Mohamed
- Sequence Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson, Robin Hilton
