Fatima Sheekhuna
Mustafa has finally announced the release date of his debut project alongside a new single, 'Ali,' a touching dedication to his friend.
The single 'Ali', also comes with Mustafa's first ever self directed video. In it he shares the experience of mourning his late friend, depicting the narrative within the scope of the visual, where the presence of his companions around him eventually fade. Upon release, he shared this poignant message on instagram, "it’ll never be easy & it’ll never be filled but we can honour the void, how vast it is, what it once was before it was emptied, what was left there by their memory, preserve the beauty of the people you lost, exhume those bodies, the weight you’re carrying can become whatever you want it to be; if you only begin to understand it, exhume those bodies, may God have mercy on everyone we lost before we had a chance to say goodbye, Ali forever."
When Smoke Rises is due to arrive May 28 via Regent Park Songs, the musicians own record label, named after the neighbourhood he grew up within, in Toronto. There are featured collaborations from stars such as James Blake and Sampha, as well as fellow Regent Park natives and friends, Puffy L'z and Rax. In an interview with GQ he spoke of the project stating: "A debut album should examine my life. The joy and the pitfalls and love. But I think loss was perhaps preventing me from exploring any other experiences. I wanted to honor my friends' passing and examine their transition with beauty. There's peace in that."
You can watch the video below and pre-save the project here.