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Get to know Mustafa, our latest Trending Artist on the Rise
Tuesday, March 2, 2021
Mustafa,
a singer, songwriter, spoken word poet and member of the Toronto collective Halal Gang (Mo-G, Safe, Puffy L’z, and Smoke Dawg) — debuted his first single, "
Stay Alive
," in early 2020, leaving fans yearning for more.
Getting an early start at the age of 12, Mustafa’s powerful poetry and growing popularity have led to guest spots on CBC, songwriting credits on music from fellow Canadians Shawn Mendes and The Weeknd, and press features in
Pitchfork
,
Complex
and
Rolling Stone.
In the short time since his music debut, Mustafa has built a loyal following for his music on
YouTube
. In addition to “Stay Alive,” he released “
Air Forces
” this past September and shared music he collaborated on with
James Blake
.
His highly-anticipated debut album, “
When Smoke Rises
” will be released this year.
To celebrate Mustafa’s growing star power on YouTube, we did a quick Q&A to give fans an inside look at what inspires this up-and-coming
Trending Artist on the Rise
:
Where are you from?
Mustafa:
“I’m from Regent Park, Toronto, Canada, Nubian blood.”
Finish this sentence, Toronto is...?
Mustafa:
“Toronto is a dreamland and a graveyard.”
How important is it for you to incorporate your experience of growing up in Regent Park/Toronto into your work?
Mustafa:
It’s essential, I am because of Regent Park, without mentioning it people won’t understand my why and how.
What inspired the last song you wrote and/or recorded?
Mustafa:
“My love for someone was being tested by a state of war we were both in. It came in the way of what we felt for each other, I lost her but found a song... when life gives you lemons!”
What are your top priorities when it comes to making a new music video?
Mustafa:
“Staying heavy on documenting authentic emotion and nuance, always eliminating unnecessary VFX/surrealism, constantly asking myself how I’m stimulating the pace of the song with the visual.”
Do you remember the first music video you ever watched on YouTube? If so, what was it?
Mustafa:
“I remember “One Mic” by Nas, the narrative and video at the time holds real nostalgic weight in my life.”
What other Canadian artists have had an influence on the type of artist you are today?
Mustafa:
“Neil Young, Leonard Cohen and Joni Mitchell. In the future, I’d love to collaborate with Neil Young.”
What was the predominant emotion you felt when you got a standing ovation at Toronto's Hot Docs Film Festival?
Mustafa:
“It was power, a thing a 12 year old black Muslim boy didn’t think he could yield then or ever, I knew there were 2 sides to that power, trying to stay on the right side of it.”
How does it feel to be part of YouTube's Artist on the Rise? Were you excited when you found out?
Mustafa:
“Absolutely excited. Imposter syndrome always strikes, but I’m grateful and humbled to have a platform to spread the light of my community further.”
YouTube has long served as a place for artists to find an audience for their sound, and from this, Artist on the Rise was born. This feature within the Explore tab on YouTube’s mobile app showcases the promising future of a new emerging artist every week to our Canadian users.
Are you Canada’s next YouTube star? Enter for a chance to join the YouTube NextUp class of 2016!
Thursday, September 22, 2016
Hey Canada, are you ready for your close up?
We’re looking for passionate, motivated and inspiring Canadian YouTube creators to participate in a week-long creator camp designed to turbocharge your channel.
We have one of the world’s most vibrant communities of YouTubers here in Canada, both in terms of creative content produced and uploaded, as well as watch time. Canadian creators are exploding globally and are part of a new generation of Canadian artists growing up online, and reaching global audiences through YouTube.
This is the first time we’ve offered the YouTube NextUp program in Canada, but NextUp has helped over 250 YouTube creators from 15 countries to accelerate the growth of their YouTube channels since its launch in 2011.
Since opening the doors of YouTube Space Toronto back in April, we’ve worked with hundreds of talented creators to learn, connect and create. NextUp is our newest program designed to foster innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship within Canada’s YouTube community and we can’t wait to see which talented YouTubers will be part of our inaugural class in Toronto.
Applications are open to all Canadian YouTube creators who have between 10K and 100K subscribers. We are looking for talented creators that have already demonstrated success on the platform and who are ready to take their channel to the next level.
If you are selected to join the NextUp Canada class of 2016, you are eligible to receive:
A spot at a week-long creator camp at
YouTube Space
Toronto. You’ll team up with production experts to harness new techniques in camera, lighting, and sound, and receive coaching from YouTube Partnerships team on how to grow your audience.
Mentorship from
YouTube NextUp grads
, plus the opportunity to meet and work with other fast-rising creators. Could there be a better way to set off some truly awesome collaborations?!
A $2,500 voucher for production equipment to help you make your video dreams a reality.
Click
here
to get details on how to apply, including the eligibility requirements and context rules.
Come on Canada - show us what you’ve got!
Posted by Mark Swierszcz, head of YouTube Space Toronto
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