Mustafa praises Dua Lipa’s activism at ‘Dunya’ listening event: “It’s our responsibility as artists to hold up a mirror to our world”

nme.com:

Mustafa praised Dua Lipa‘s activism during a listening session for his second album last night (September 25), telling her “it’s our responsibility as artists to hold up a mirror to our world”.The Sudanese-Canadian singer-songwriter and poet will release ‘Dunya’ – roughly translating to “the world in all its flaws” from Arabic – tomorrow (September 27) via Jagjaguwar.

Pre-order/pre-save here.It’ll follow on from his 2021 debut ‘When Smoke Rises’, which chronicles life in the violent Toronto neighbourhood of Regent Park where Mustafa grew up.

His first full-length project won the 2022 Juno Award for Alternative Album Of The Year.In anticipation of ‘Dunya’ dropping in full this week, the musician has been staging ‘Kitaba’ listening events around the world, hosted by his friends.Speaking to close friend Lipa at London’s EartH Hackney Theatre yesterday, Mustafa shared deeply personal reflections on his Muslim faith, his violent upbringing, his organising efforts for Palestine and Sudan, and the tragic death of his brother last year.He also played through all 12 tracks featured on his second album – including the singles ‘Gaza Is Calling’, ‘SNL’ and ‘Name Of God’ – and opened up about collaborating with Rosalía and Daniel Caesar on the LP.During the interview, Mustafa specifically shouted out Lipa for her friendship and ongoing commitment to activism.A post shared by Mustafa (@mustafathepoet)“I actually feel so grateful to be on stage with you, considering how instrumental you’ve been for so many causes for so long”, he told the ‘Radical Optimism’ pop star. “Wallahi.

I feel a deep reverence, appreciation and grace for you. I’m so proud to be alongside and in community with you.”Mustafa told the audience: “You never know who’s.