Our second PORT cover star is
@mustafathepoet who, after the release of his 2021 debut, When Smoke Rises, reached acclaim for his personal song writing exploring themes of love, loss and conflict. As he launches his new album, the Sudanese-Canadian musician sits down with friend and collaborator Dev Hynes, of Blood Orange, to reflect on his creative process, the importance of preservation, and the making of Dunya, which translates from Arabic to “the world in all its flaws”.
Mustafa wears
@gucci AW24 throughout. Excerpt below:
“For me, it was not about having my own world, or an attempt at having agency over a space. There was a space in the world that I didn’t feel was reflected, and much of that was the space I grew up in. I really wanted to soundtrack what that felt like and try to develop some sort of sonic foundation or memory.
Also, the diaspora as an idea is going to transform. When I think about that, it’s like a fire beneath me, because I’m part of this Sudanese diaspora. Sudan is experiencing the worst refugee crisis in the world, with 10 million people displaced. Everything I say and write now becomes, for better or worse, a sonic memory. I realised I needed to plant a flag in the ground of what that feeling is, just for archival purposes.
My issue is never about being forgotten. It’s more about being remembered in the wrong way or being misrepresented in the course of history.”
Photography
@ariellebobbwillis, styling
@georgia_thompson, production
@merestudios, groomer
@sapongjohnnie, skin
@homasafar
Editor-in-Chief Dan Crowe
Associate Publisher Andrew Chidgey-Nakazono
@andrewchidgey
Creative Director Matt Curtis
@uncommon_london
Talent Director/Casting Director
@tommacklinstudio @tommacklin
Deputy Editor
@aylaangelos
Fashion Director
@mitchellbelk
Photography Director
@hols_hay
Art Director dxn_shxn
Special Projects Manager
@carlyrgray