MUSTAFA RELEASES DEBUT ALBUM, SHARES LIVE PERFORMANCE VIDEO FOR “NAME OF GOD”

September 27, 2024

**MUSTAFA’S DEBUT ALBUM, DUNYA, OUT TODAY VIA ARTS & CRAFTS (CANADA) / JAGJAGUWAR (REST OF WORLD)**

**BUY / STREAM DUNYA HERE**

WATCH / SHARE “NAME OF GOD” (LIVE PERFORMANCE VIDEO) HERE

“[a] distinctly modern take on folk music” - The New York Times
“Dunya" is a triumphant articulation of Mustafa’s vision, which he once described as “inner-city folk music.” The Toronto Star

“the songs feel so personal, it seems as if your heart is breaking alongside the speaker” - The Face

“Lilting guitar meets the Sudanese oud; straightforward piano melodies meet polyrhythmic Arabic chanting. The result is a bedrock upon which Mustafa can tell his own particular kind of folk tales” CBC Music

“‘Dunya’ is a Gorgeous Treatise on Rage and Faith” - Rolling Stone

“Name of God” Video Still

Mustafa releases his debut album Dunya today. The album marks his first full-length project following his 2021 project When Smoke Rises, which was acclaimed by the likes of the New York Times, NPR, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone and more. The album marks the intersection of Mustafa’s art and activism, the latter of which has most notably seen him produce two installments of his Artists For Aid concert series, which have taken place in New Jersey and London this year and featured the likes of 070 Shake, Blood Orange, Clairo, Daniel Caesar, Earl Sweatshirt, Faye Webster, FKA twigs, King Krule, Nicolas Jaar, Nick Hakim, Omar Apollo, Ramy Youssef, Stormzy, Yasiin Bey and more across the two events, in addition to Mustafa himself. The album’s release coincides with a stunning live performance of “Name of God” that finds Mustafa performing alongside Micah Preite (guitar) and Kibrom Birhane (masenqo).

**BUY / STREAM DUNYA HERE**

WATCH / SHARE “NAME OF GOD” (LIVE PERFORMANCE VIDEO) HERE

Despite only being released today, Dunya arrives alongside significant critical acclaim -- praised by the likes of The Face and Kinfolk, both of which currently feature Mustafa on the covers of their current issues, in addition to the Associated Press, Rolling Stone, and Teen Vogue as well as a special sit-down conversation with UK favorites Chunkz & Filly on cultural harmony and the album’s larger themes of personal growth. Dunya’s release also coincides with the final installment of a series of live conversations that Mustafa has been hosting around Europe and North America with special guests. After speaking with Daniel Caesar in Toronto, Ramy Youssef in Los Angeles, Anok Yai in Paris, and Dua Lipa in London, Mustafa will host an intimate, sold-out event this evening in New York City where he will discuss the themes of Dunya in conversation with Angelina Jolie.

WATCH / SHARE “SNL” HERE
WATCH / SHARE “IMAAN” HERE

Speaking about Dunya, Mustafa shares that he is “trying to preserve and celebrate the ordinary life in the hood,” a notion that is beautifully exemplified in a song like “SNL.” But Dunya, which roughly translates from Arabic to “the world in all its flaws” is also an interrogation of his faith and lifelong relationship with Islam, something that Mustafa has referred to as “the longest, most peculiar relationship in my life.” This examination is evident on a song like “I’ll Go Anywhere,” which on surface examination reads as a folk song, albeit one that interpolates a melody his parents sang to him as a child and prominently features the oud, a Middle Eastern string instrument that folds seamlessly into the record’s unique, rich atmosphere paired with vocal contributions from Rosalía. This effortless mixture of disparate elements that seemingly shouldn’t work together, but ultimately do, speaks to the power of Mustafa’s work as an artist.

WATCH / SHARE “GAZA IS CALLING” HERE

UPCOMING LIVE DATES
10/4 - Arcosanti, AZ @ FORM Festival
10/11 - New York City, NY @ COLORS: TONES of NYC w/ Moses Sumney & Naomi Sharon

**BUY / STREAM DUNYA HERE**

Dunya Album Artwork // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES

DUNYA TRACKLIST
1. Name of God
2. What Happened, Mohamed?
3. Imaan
4. What good is a heart?
5. SNL
6. I'll Go Anywhere
7. Beauty, end
8. Old Life
9. Gaza is Calling
10. Leaving Toronto
11. Hope is a Knife
12. Nouri

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MUSTAFA SHARES NEW SINGLE/VIDEO "OLD LIFE"

August 27, 2024

**MUSTAFA’S DEBUT ALBUM, DUNYA, SET FOR RELEASE SEPTEMBER 27, 2024 VIA ARTS & CRAFTS (CANADA) / JAGJAGUWAR (REST OF WORLD)**

WATCH / SHARE “OLD LIFE” HERE
BUY / STREAM “OLD LIFE” HERE

**PRE-SAVE DUNYA HERE**

Mustafa by Jack McKain // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES

Ahead of the release of his debut album Dunya on September 27th, Mustafa shares the final album single "Old Life" alongside a Tanima Mehrotra-directed music video. Speaking about the Simon Hessman (James Blake, Jamie xx, Sampha) and Dahi (Kendrick Lamar, Travis Scott, Drake)-produced song, Mustafa shares that "'Old Life' is about reminiscence, and separation, and romance being a life sentence even in tragedy."

WATCH / SHARE “OLD LIFE” HERE
BUY / STREAM “OLD LIFE” HERE

The first thing that strikes you about Mustafa’s music has always been his writing: a simple, piercing tone that can make any story feel as raw and earnest as the words to a love song. On this latest project, Mustafa expands the boundaries of his expert autobiographical storytelling. With a hushed delivery that can silence his surroundings, Mustafa evolved swiftly from a child prodigy reciting poems throughout his native Toronto to a behind-the-scenes songwriting force for artists like the Weeknd, Camila Cabello, and Justin Bieber.

WATCH / SHARE “GAZA IS CALLING” HERE
BUY / STREAM “GAZA IS CALLING” HERE

WATCH / SHARE “SNL” HERE
BUY / STREAM “SNL” HERE

On Dunya, he is a full-on auteur in his own right, and he is once again in incomparable company. The collaborators on his debut full-length include Aaron Dessner, Rosalía, Clairo, Nicolas Jaar, and more, alongside Mustafa’s longtime creative partner Simon Hessmann and his friend and confidant, Ramy Yousef, who served as a creative director for some of its most striking visuals.

WATCH / SHARE “IMAAN” HERE
BUY / STREAM “IMAAN” HERE

**PRE-SAVE DUNYA HERE**

Dunya Album Artwork // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES

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MUSTAFA ANNOUNCES DEBUT ALBUM, SHARES NEW SINGLE & VIDEO

July 11, 2024

**MUSTAFA’S DEBUT ALBUM, DUNYA, SET FOR RELEASE SEPTEMBER 27, 2024 VIA ARTS & CRAFTS (CANADA) / JAGJAGUWAR (REST OF WORLD)**

WATCH / SHARE “SNL” HERE
BUY / STREAM “SNL” HERE

**PRE-SAVE DUNYA HERE**

Photo Credit : Jack McKain // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES

Mustafa announces his debut album, Dunya, which is set for release on September 27 via Arts & Crafts. In conjunction with the album's announcement he shares new single "SNL", produced by his frequent collabor Simon Hessman and Rodaidh McDonald, which arrives alongside a self-directed music video.

Speaking on the inspiration behind his latest offering Mustafa shares, “‘SNL’ is about finding charm in the gloom of the hood- to love despite the circumstance, despite the worst of us.” Dunya will feature Mustafa's 2023 single "Name of God" in addition to his 2024 singles "Imaan" and “Gaza is Calling”, the former of which was cited as a prime example of Mustafa's unique ability to examine "isolation and longing, rendering them with beauty and, somehow, without anxiety" by the New York Times’ Jon Caramanica.

“SNL” and Dunya’s announcement arrive on the heels of the second edition of Mustafa’s Artists for Aid benefit concerts, the most recent of which took place on July 4 in London featuring performances by Bint Mbareh, Blood Orange, Clairo, Daniel Caesar, Earl Sweatshirt, King Krule, Nicolas Jaar, Ramy Youssef and Yasiin Bey, in addition to Mustafa himself and special guest performer FKA twigs. The event, which was presented in partnership with the aid organization War Child, raised funds to benefit Gaza and Sudan and followed the January edition that took place in New Jersey and was chronicled by British Vogue.

WATCH / SHARE “SNL” HERE
BUY / STREAM “SNL” HERE

“SNL” Artwork // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES

MORE ABOUT DUNYA
Dunya, the title of Mustafa’s masterfully crafted and breathtakingly tender full-length debut, roughly translates from Arabic to “the world in all its flaws.” It’s a lofty subject for a young songwriter, but as with every theme at the heart of the Sudanese-Canadian artist’s work—from religious devotion to childhood trauma, gang violence to romantic intimacy—he approaches it through a personal lens. “This record encapsulates so much of my life,” he explains of the expansive 12-song album. Blending genres and moods, weaving novelistic details into instantly memorable folk songs, he has crafted a record that feels like a series of personal breakthroughs, arriving one after the other.

The first thing that strikes you about Mustafa’s music has always been his writing: a simple, piercing tone that can make any story feel as raw and earnest as the words to a love song. With a hushed delivery that can silence his surroundings, Mustafa evolved swiftly from a child prodigy reciting poems throughout his native Toronto to a behind-the-scenes songwriting force for artists like the Weeknd, Camila Cabello, and Justin Bieber. On Dunya, he is a full-on auteur in his own right, and he is once again in incomparable company. The collaborators on his debut full-length include Aaron Dessner, Rosalía, Clairo, Nicolas Jaar, and more, alongside Mustafa’s longtime creative partner Simon Hessmann and his friend and confidant, Ramy Yousef, who served as a creative director for some of its striking visuals.

WATCH / SHARE “GAZA IS CALLING” HERE
BUY / STREAM “GAZA IS CALLING” HERE

“I’m trying to preserve and celebrate the ordinary life in the hood,” Mustafa notes of his inspiration. Exploring his upbringing and trajectory onward, these songs are equally disarming in their simplicity and multilayered in their emotional breadth. In the highlight “SNL,” an acronym for “Street N*gga Lullaby,” Mustafa sings in heart-wrenching verse over what sounds like a campfire singalong, exposing the singular voice of a writer who cites both Future and Big Thief’s Adrianne Lenker among his chief influences. “Yelling ‘gang gang gang‘ in my room,” he sings in the chorus, “you sprayed me with perfume.” Many of his songs blend these tones with a fluidity that comes second nature to him: You can smell the perfume, imagine the scenery outside the window, breathlessly anticipate what happens next.

Expanding the boundaries of his autobiographical storytelling, Mustafa describes Dunya as a loving interrogation of his lifelong practice of Islam, which he refers to as “the longest, most peculiar relationship in my life.” In “I’ll Go Anywhere”, which features striking vocal accompaniment from Rosalía—an artist Mustafa admires for her own ability to blend various cultures and traditions into her forward-thinking pop music—he interpolates a melody his parents sang to him as a child. “God and faith are a bridge to my brother, to my family,” he says, alluding to the tragic death of his older brother, Mohamed Ahmed, in 2023. The arrangement also prominently features the oud, a Middle Eastern string instrument that folds seamlessly into the record’s unique, rich atmosphere.

WATCH / SHARE “IMAAN” HERE
BUY / STREAM “IMAAN” HERE

Mustafa notes that “I’ll Go Anywhere” was among the first songs he wrote for the record, during a pivotal trip to Egypt in 2021. He describes the experience as a “microcosm of what I wanted to explore” on the record, addressing faith and family, home and departure. Many of the songs emerged in the form of conversations with friends and family, relationships he maintained through the years and others he lost. The latter subject is exemplified tragically by “Gaza Is Calling,” a sweeping ballad about a childhood friend in the occupied territory. “Every time I say your name/There’s a war that’s in the way,” he sings, before closing with a verse sung entirely in Arabic.

For Mustafa, these person-to-person connections are the core of his mission. Despite his ascent in mainstream and indie circles, he describes his deepest sense of accomplishment when he’s approached by young people for whom his work made a personal, spiritual impact. He understands it is precisely his vulnerability that allows listeners to connect. “Faith is a journey and the record is a journey—its incompleteness is intentional,” he explains, noting the moments of profound quiet and lingering questions that circle standouts like “Old Life”. From the heartfelt words of encouragement in “Imaan” to the haunting religious inquiries throughout “Name of God,” each song reveals a confident, distinctive voice that’s never sounded more poised for the masses. “I’m genuinely not trying to be a pop star,” he confesses with a laugh. “But I believe in the music, and I believe in the story I am telling.” Even when it sounds like he’s taking on the world, Mustafa is speaking only for himself: a story that he knows is just getting started.

**PRE-SAVE DUNYA HERE**

Dunya Album Artwork // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES

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