Ones2Watch Home

Photo: Joseph Marshall

As we survive a solemn time in which the mere act of scrolling social media can be devastatingly triggering, nothing tends to shattered souls quite like art. Sudanese-Canadian Mustafa the Poet offers a fragment of his heart in his latest single “Gaza is Calling,” an orchestral plea to return humanity back to its humanity.

"'Gaza is Calling’ is about my first experience with heartbreak in friendship," shares Mustafa in a statement. At the age of 11, the artist developed a profound connection with a Palestinian boy in the Toronto housing project they both lived in. "Not even this love was a match for the violence we were up against," he continues. "In the end it was all the bloodshed between us that didn’t allow us to see each other without tears appearing, and one of the last notes he sent to me was about how we would continue on in another life."

It’s no rare occasion to see Mustafa fight with the power of his voice, consistently penning tracks of deep spiritual and political significance while organizing benefit concerts and reciting open letters to politicians. He embodies an exhausted yet resilient generation, wielding his weapons and fueling those with hope.

"Gaza is Calling" is an offering to a future we beg for, making true art out of grief and displacement. The single’s accompanying video stars model and Palestinian Bella Hadid, who has also used much of her platform for advocacy. “I wrote and recorded it in 2022, Bella and I conceptualized the video that same year, and we shot it last year,” the musician shares. It’s a hard pill to swallow that its message remains just as, if not more, relevant all these years later. Featuring footage as current as a week ago from the West Bank city of Jenin, the video isn’t easy to get through, yet sets fire ablaze within.

With the proceeds of the single rerouting directly to the children of Gaza, this single is doing much more than pacifying aching spirits: it’s throwing wood to the fire, putting walk into talk, and doing something as many do nothing. "The hope is that this serves as a stark reminder that every path is ours, every child is ours, and every war is ours to answer for and speak against," Mustafa shares.

Watch the "Gaza is Calling" video below: