Mustafa - When Smoke Rises (CD)

When Smoke Rises is the debut project from Toronto-based poet and singer-songwriter Mustafa. Writing in the aftermath of losing several friends to gun violence, Mustafa has sewn these departures - and his attempts to cope with them - into song, immortalizing friends in the most honest way he knows how: through his interpretation of folk music. The project features production from heavy-hitters Frank Dukes and Jamie xx, as well as contributions from Sampha and James Blake. GQ calls it ""an impossibly personal collection of songs as heartbreaking as they are beautiful.""