After capturing the world's attention in March with his debut single "Stay Alive," Toronto's Mustafa (a.k.a. Mustafa The Poet) is back with a music video for his new track "Air Forces." Check it out above.
Co-produced by Frank Dukes and Jamie xx, the serene, nearly pastoral track is built around samples of a Sudanese tribal chant—a nod to Mustafa's own roots—with the 23-year-old Muslim poet and singer crooning lines like "Don't crease your Air Forces/Just stay inside tonight/You know what's happening outside."
The accompanying video, directed by Kid. Studio (who Complex Canada recently featured on our list of the 10 Best Canadian Music Video Directors Right Now), shows Mustafa singing in Regent Park—his neighbourhood and the setting of the "Stay Alive" video—interspersed with scenes of women redistributing money amongst themselves (the ancient Somali practice of "ayuuto"), Air Force 1s being rocked with kurtas, lush green fields, and a Black man with two deep scars on his back, presumably where his wings were cut off.
Recently, Mustafa also shared a video of his performance of new song "Come Back" alongside James Blake, further building on the momentum he started with his anti-gun violence message in "Stay Alive."
"With all due respect I make folk music, not r&b," he recently wrote in response to a tweet describing his sound as "quality R&B."
