By Nikima Anderson
December 13, 2017
Mustafa, or as he calls himself, “Da Blacknificent Poet,” is an African American man who uses his poetry to express himself and educate others. Born and raised in New York, Mustafa currently resides in Southwest Philadelphia with his three year old son. He travels between New York and Philadelphia often to absorb as much of the spoken word scene as he can, performing on a weekly basis (sometimes more) in both areas. He regards the New York spoken word scene as “more welcoming, more inviting.” The Philadelphia spoken word scene is much more observant and intense as listeners quietly listen to and acknowledge the performances while the New York scene is generally more “live” and loud. This point is surprising because there is a common thought about New Yorkers as crude and keeping more to themselves while Philadelphia has a reputation of a lively community.
Being a “full-time father” has influenced his writing and led Mustafa to write some poetry directed at his son that he deemed too personal to share. On a Sunday morning, I met with Mustafa while he was eating breakfast with his son in a little diner in North Philadelphia called The Breakfast Boutique, with a bright green awning that stuck out . He fed his son some of his own pancakes because his son had pushed his eggs and grits to the side, and gave him his phone to watch the Little Bill on. He discusses the details of his arrangement with his son’s mother and expresses how their shared custody is so important to him. Mustafa believes it necessary to be a part of his son’s life and be an active and contributing father.
Mustafa is reluctant to talk about his daily routine and his occupation. He describes himself as a “technician by trade.” “I fix things. I work on cars. Very handy, very skilled”, he tells me . Mustafa is keen on protecting his privacy and wants to talk only about his role as a poet. The irony in this obviously lies in the fact that as a spoken word poet, Mustafa performs piece that are very close to his heart and telling of the type of person that he is in front of crowds of dozens of people, which apparently proves to be a more comfortable setting for him to share the details of his private life than in an individual conversation.
When I first meet Mustafa at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe in the East Village he is dressed in large, baggy clothes, a hat, and Timberlands.. . Mustafa performed an emotional piece about the empowerment of women, encouraging women to embrace their strength, a piece with that much weight and social significance is not one that would typically be attributed to him. This speaks to the true power of poetry as means to express one’s self and break away from common judgement. Far too often, men, especially African American men are attacked for being emotional or pre-judged to be “hard”. Mustafa speaks on the importance of poetry for black men and its ability to remove a stigma that holds true even within the community, that black men can’t have emotions or they’re “too soft”.
Mustafa has always had a desire to express himself in written form. He says he “used to rap back in the day” when he was younger, before transferring to poetry. Mustafa describes rap as “poetry with a flow” and explains that he “naturally evolved” into writing and performing poetry about five years ago.
When Mustafa first came in contact with the spoken word scene, he was solely an audience member. While he enjoyed the poetry it took a while to occur to him that he could write and perform himself. “I used to go to different open mic venues and enjoy listening to different poets and artists and at that time… I never thought that I would write poetry, and recite poetry to enlighten others”, he says, taking poetic pauses to emphasize the words write, recite, and, enlighten.
“One day it just came out of me, as if it was buried and I revealed the light within…and applied the pen… to the paper.” Poetry is something that has become second nature to Mustafa. The passion and the feeling that comes through in his writing is representative of something that has always been inside of him, just waiting to be introduced to the world. “When I started writing poetry, I felt as though I had a duty. It was beyond just reciting for an applause. It wasn’t about fame. I felt like I had duty to share the message.”
The natural inflection of Mustafa’s voice, along with his vocabulary, make almost everything he says sound like a poem. He rhymes words unconsciously. He speaks with a flow rather than in declaratory statements. Whenever he catches a moment, a small glimpse of inspiration, Mustafa takes a note of it, hoping to turn it into a poem. “I’m very free spirited. So I could be out somewhere, and there may be a concept that runs through my mind and I may want to expound upon in a poetic form,” he says. Mustafa notes that “a lot of oldies music”, typically characterized in the blues and jazz genres influence his writing, as well as talented poets such as Gil Scott Heron. Finding inspiration in anything that he finds meaningful, his poems often center around themes of family, beauty, social issues and injustice. Mustafa believes that what he has to say is important because as previously noted, it’s not often that black men get the opportunity to share their story and share their feelings in this way. Especially in today’s society, the black masculinity is portrayed to be manifested through violence and disrespect. “I think that it’s necessary to be heard because it’s rare. My message is rare…Considering the state of the…. mainstream alleged hip hop music that’s being pumped throughout the airways that’s just derogatory, I feel like my message is necessary…to help heal.” In addition to the fact that the hip hop music of today has lost its meaning, it’s necessary for black men to have an outlet to express their thoughts and become widely recognized without resorting to rap music that degrades women and claim hardships that they didn’t actually endure. Mustafa is a man with a message and he intends to continue spreading it and educate anyone who will listen on the problems that he sees in his community and in society as a whole. “My poetry is not just reciting words or rhymes. It’s more so to influence or empower others or to elevate consciousness… in other words, plant seeds.”