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Jun 1, 2021When Smoke Rises is a succinct and well-crafted album that serves to tell the story of Mustafa's pain, grief and loss in way that honours his unique voice. Mustafa manages to transcend genres while remaining true to himself as he navigates his emotional trauma.
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Jun 1, 2021On When Smoke Rises, his voice is most often smooth and restrained, making the sparse moments of emotional trilling even more poignant.
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Jun 1, 2021When Smoke Rises deftly translates Ahmed’s poetry to melody without blunting the truth of the narratives at its core. ... But the choice to build it around folk music’s tropes is an innovative way of avoiding the “conscious” stereotype, notorious in hip-hop for a moralizing impulse that tends to hollow out its messages.
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Jun 1, 2021Mustafa’s delivery hits a bruised place somewhere between 21st-century folk and bereft R&B.