Mustafa: Tiny Desk Concert

Mustafa: Tiny Desk Concert with tags npr, npr music, national public radio, live, performance, tiny desk, tiny desk concert, tony desk, tiny concert

Elle Mannion | September 3, 2025

Mustafa maintains hope in dark times. For this Tiny Desk, the Sudanese Canadian artist features material from Dunya, one of the best albums of 2024, plus “Stay Alive,” an earlier song of his that he says became “the thesis of everything that I believe in.”

A talented poet and songwriter, Mustafa has written for stars like Justin Bieber and The Weeknd — but as you see here, his artistry shines most when he sings heart-wrenchingly beautiful songs about his community. “I was born and raised in the largest housing project in North America,” he tells us. The depth of his emotions are palpable here: joy as he playfully interacts with a Sudanese choir assembled for this performance, pain as his soft voice pleads over oud, guitar and cello, and devotion as he sings about his faith. Dylan Wiggins, a producer for Dunya, helped with these Tiny Desk arrangements.

On the Desk, you'll see a variety of objects that celebrate his Sudanese heritage, but also a press vest — the kind used by journalists reporting in combat zones. In Toronto, the police would call into venues and recommend canceling Mustafa's early shows, citing "safety risks." That's when Mustafa began to contrast the white of his thawb with the bulletproof material of a press vest emblazoned with the word POET. “When I’m asking my boys to stay alive,” he says, “I’m asking that, when they return from a war, they don’t lose what makes them soft and they don’t lose what makes them tender. And that, to me, is a radical act.”

SET LIST

“Name of God”

“I'll Go Anywhere”

“Stay Alive”

“What Happened, Mohamed?”

MUSICIANS

Mustafa: vocals

Fletcher Milloy: guitar, background vocals

Yunus Iyriboz: oud, guitar

Wesley Hornpetrie: cello

SAFA: background vocals

Dua Kheiry: background vocals

Nadine El Roubi: background vocals

Batool Ibrahim: background vocals

Bousaina Ibrahim: background vocals

TINY DESK TEAM

Producer: Elle Mannion

Director/Editor: Joshua Bryant

Audio Technical Director: Josh Newell

Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter

Videographers: Joshua Bryant, Maia Stern, Kara Frame

Audio Engineer: Hannah Gluvna

Audio Mix: Maggie Luthar

Production Assistant: Dhanika Pineda

Photographer: Grace Raver

Series Editor: Lars Gotrich

Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed

Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson, Robin Hilton

#nprmusic #tinydesk #mustafa

Tiny Desk Giveaway. No purchase or donation required for entry. Void where restricted or prohibited by law. 18yrs or older. Deadline September 12, 2025, 11:59PM PT. ARV: $3,800. Links to the entry page and official rules can be found at NPR.org/TinyDeskGiveaway

Sponsors: NPR, Moises

Support for NPR Music and the 2025 Tiny Desk Giveaway comes from Moises. Powerful AI tools created by musicians, for musicians. Learn more at Moises.AI