Mustafa the Poet

By -
How A Muslim artist is making a positive impact on youth in Regent Park and beyond. 
 

Mustafa Ahmed, better known by his stage name, Mustafa the Poet, is a 24-year-old songwriter and singer who grew up in Toronto’s Regent Park. Mustafa is of Sudanese parentage. His early spoken word focused on themes of poverty both in Africa and Regent Park. Mustafa recently released an album on May 28, 2021, named, “When Smoke Rises.” Instead of glorifying violence, gangs and destructive behaviour, Mustafa chooses to use his music to promote healing and peace and to touch the lives of everyone.

In the words of Mustafa, he says, “You think you’re escaping a war, but then you arrive at a new one” he refers to the ongoing violence happening in Regent Park and how he tries to escape it.

In his song “Ali”, Mustafa sings about his friend who passed away from gun violence. In the song, paying tribute to his friend, he says, “Ali, there were no words to stop the bullets.”

In his song “ Airforces” he sings, “ Don’t crease your air forces, just stay inside tonight.” This lyric was sung in the course of the song emphasizing the unsafe streets of our city at night. The lyric is an analogy to Nike air force one shoes and how with every wear the more it becomes creased.

Mustafa has had the opportunity to shine and has received amazing achievements. Mustafa had the opportunity to perform his song “What about Heaven” live on Jimmy Fallon, as he got to show his beautiful voice in front of thousands. New York Times and The Guardian also made an article on him demonstrating his story and talent. He was also on GQ middle east where he displayed his cultural and religious outfits.

Mustafa has changed the lives of many young people in Toronto and continues to break barriers and make a name for himself and the community of Regent Park. By making folk music and reaching out to the youth in the city in a peaceful way Mustafa is single-handedly lowering violence in the city.


Written by
Samir Abdella

Journalist
FOCUS Media Arts Centre

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Regent Park Portrayed in Film and Television

By -
Image
Toronto has a rich history of being a go-to shooting location for many television and film production companies. Some notable films shot here over the years include Good Will Hunting (1997), Billy Madison (1998), American Psycho (2000), and X-Men (2000). Regent Park has also had its share of showcases in film. This article aims to review the general content of movie dramas and televisions shows shot in Regent and explore their relationship to the community. Clement Virgo is a director, producer, and writer from Montego Bay, Jamaica. He was born in 1966 and moved to the Regent Park area in Toronto in 1977. During this time Regent Park was generally populated by low-income families and as a hot spot for drugs. Virgo is most recently known for his roles in Greenleaf (2016-2018), The Book of Negroes (2015), and The Wire (2002) as Director and/or Producer. His first feature-length film, however, was Rude (1995), which was filmed almost entirely in the old Regent Park. “The film told...
Read more

What Social Inclusion Means to Me

By -
I had moved into Regent Park only a few days before I saw the pink, fuchsia, strawberry, indigo, yellow, green, neck streamers and sparkling robes worn by children, parents, aunts, uncles, and elders as they marched passed my kitchen door. Soon, the nearby Athletic Grounds was blazing with colour. Although it was the first time I heard them, the intonations on the microphone were recognizable, even to me, as prayers. It was Eid, the concluding celebration after Ramadan. It was a beautiful sight. I am a White Jewish senior and I hunted for a stairless condo for years before I chose to live in Regent Park and then only because a relative did business with the new seniors’ building there. “Regent Park?” a friend exclaimed. “You are going to have ethnic problems.”  “Not I.  I come from a long line of fiery leftie activists.” I replied. Stage four and five of revitalizing this post-war subsidized development into a multi-income community was just beginning and I ju...
Read more

Meet Your Neighbourhood Police Officers – PC Mircea Biga and PC Farzad Ghotbi

By -
Image
Community-based policing is a proactive law enforcement strategy that focuses on building ties and working closely with a community’s members to create partnerships and plans for preventing and reducing crime. While community policing will look differently depending on the community it serves, a central feature is that the same officer patrols and works in the same area on a permanent basis. Currently there are 17 community-based police programs in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), but what most people don’t know is that Toronto’s community policing started in Regent Park in May of 2017. We know this because the original officers involved in setting up the Regent Park community policing program continue to work here today. The officers are PC Mircea Biga, PC Farzad Ghotbi, and PC Edward Parks; the newest officer assigned to the Regent Park community is PC Nigel Thomas (who is replacing PC Melissa Huntley while she is on maternity leave). Symptomatic of the increasing diversity...
Read more