When Smoke Rises (2021) – Mustafa

Regent Park Songs, 2021

Singer-songwriter-poet Mustafa’s debut studio album is a beautiful concept album on grief and life in the Regent Park community of Toronto.

An unknown name to many, Mustafa has been involved in music for years. He’s accrued songwriting credits since 2016, and has been a part of Toronto hip hop collective Halal Gang. Despite not being new to the music industry, it’s taken until 2021 for his first project to be released. In the year and a half Mustafa’s has released his own material, we’ve come to realize he’s much more seasoned and wise beyond his tender 25 years. This is exhibited finely in the culmination of years of experiences and craft that is When Smoke Rises.

On the record, Mustafa explores grief through ways of coping with death. “The Hearse” sums up the blind rage that comes with losing someone. On the track, Mustafa sings about the feelings someone would feel when their loved one is killed in the streets. It’s pure fury and a relentless need for revenge. It’s absolute dedication to exacting revenge. Though they didn’t intend to hunt this person, it’s what they need to do now that this person drew blood. It’s doing whatever it takes to get revenge—even if it means throwing their life away or even losing their life. “The Hearse” has some of the most poetic vocal cadences on the record, especially in the last three lines of the lone verse. The production empties to leave just the Sudanese vocal sample and acoustic guitar to highlight a threat that must be made crystal clear. Though there’s rage in the lyrics, there’s complete calmness and precision in the cadence and delivery. It’s a state of being laser focused on getting an eye for an eye.

Mustafa recruits Sampha on “Capo” to help him explore the release of emotions that come with grief and the process of acceptance. “Capo” is about letting those bottled up emotions come out. Instead of holding everything in, there’s a need to learn to accept death and grieve openly. It’s a beautiful song that is very fitting to have Sampha on. “Capo” is simple with just Sampha and his piano, Mustafa, and added vocals from those around Mustafa (notably the late Smoke Dawg) to add a personal touch.

Still, despite the attempts to grieve and accept death, there are feelings of regret which Mustafa describes on “What About Heaven”. Mustafa sings of memories he had with someone he lost. Things they used to do together, the presence they had, the relationship that was left behind. There’s a real sense of anxiety throughout this track. The fast paced drums drive this anxiety and give the track a running pace and rushed feeling. It really grasps the idea of chasing something that you’ll never get back. Frank Dukes and co. nail the production on this track to match the vibe of the song.

Mustafa also tackles grief from a personal point of view. The third single off the record, “Ali”, is a personal tribute to a friend that Mustafa lost. The songwriting here is extremely personal with specific details to the loss and yet, doesn’t get lost on the listener. You can feel the pain in Mustafa’s vocals and the words he sings.

Life in Regent Park is explored in a very engaging way. Mustafa tells the stories of the violence in his community through the lens of loved ones affected. On “Stay Alive”, Mustafa pleads to his friend to step away from gang life and he offers his hand to keep them away. “Air Forces” is sung from the point of view of mothers in the community who stay up at night waiting for their children to come home—not knowing if they’d come home that night until they did. The Sudanese vocal sample captures this vibe really well. It creates this effect of mothers calling out for their sons. Frank Dukes, Jamie xx, and Simon Hessman produced this track super well. The aura fits the premise of the song perfectly.

The album closer, “Come Back”, is very bread and butter James Blake. It features a beautiful dancing piano melody that’s muffled during the verse to highlight the lyrical imagery of the songwriting. Present are simple and clear vocal melodies with touches of falsetto here and there. The production on this track stands out the most because it’s very much a James Blake style song that differs from the rest of the album. “Come Back” is about Mustafa hoping he can recapture his youth and innocence. He sings about how the experiences he’s lived of poverty, violence, and losing people close to him—like Smoke Dawg—have aged him. These tribulations have stripped away the innocence he had as a child and he wishes he could get it back—if not at least in his dreams. It’s a poignant, yet serene closer to a very personal record.

When Smoke Rises, the album, was made in a few years, but When Smoke Rises, the context, was developed over decades. It’s a record about Mustafa, but also about the Regent Park community and the people that make up the community. Mustafa paints vivid images through his songwriting and the Frank Dukes led production highlights them very well. With a foundation of acoustic guitar and East African samples, the production on the record is simple, yet filled with history and stories. On his debut studio album, Mustafa still reflects his old title of “The Poet” as his songwriting is pure melodic poetry and his storytelling is focused and deliberate.

Favourite tracks: Stay Alive, Air Forces, The Hearse, What About Heaven, Come Back