A weekly update on all things music, advertising, and technology coming straight to you from Anthony Vanger at MassiveMusic. #TWIM
ARTIST OF THE WEEK: MUSTAFA “STAY ALIVE”
The stillness roars. A quiet, restrained delivery of surprising beauty packs a punch and begs his listeners to do one simple thing: stay alive. Mustafa Ahmed, better known by his stage names Mustafa the Poet and Mustafa, is a Canadian poet, singer, and rapper. Born to Sudanese parents, Mustafa got an early start at the age of 12, his powerful poetry and growing popularity leading to guest spots on Canadian TV, songwriting credits on music from fellow Canadians Shawn Mendes and The Weeknd, and glowing press reviews. In the short time since his music debut, the 23-year-old activist has built a loyal following for his music on YouTube. In addition to “Stay Alive,” he released “Air Forces” this past September and shared music he collaborated on with James Blake. His highly-anticipated debut album, “When Smoke Rises” was released in May 2021. Mustafa is going to make a lot of noise. But he will do it quietly.
Taken from the debut project, When Smoke Rises.
Available now: https://mustafa.ffm.to/when-smoke-rises
@mustafathepoet @mustafa #mustafathepoet #mustafa #HalalGang #JheneAiko #jamesblake #frankdukes
AD OF THE WEEK: GRABPAYWALLET
This was an easy pick. An absolutely crazy ad from Thailand, in Thai (with subtitles of course) featuring a bratty man in his early twenties and a man in a gorilla suit. I know. But somehow the whole thing works. And what surprised me most about the ad is that it really shows that ‘The World Is Flat,’ by Thomas L. Friedman – New York Times was more than just a best-selling book. The whole plot and the house could have been taken straight out of any American scenario. Are we really all the same? Geopolitical theories aside, the ad, from Thai agency Wolf Bkk, does a good job of showing how easy it is to use the app. After all, if a gorilla can do it…
COVID VACCINE PASSPORTS SET TO BE MADE MANDATORY FOR CLUBS IN ENGLAND
Nightclubs and large venues in England will be made to enact a vaccine passport for entry policy from the end of September, vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi has announced today.
A negative test or proof of recent infection will not be accepted under these rules.
Last week Boris Johnson had urged nightclubs to take part in the COVID Pass scheme that ensures all holders have either had a negative COVID test, are double vaccinated or have had the virus in the last 180 days and have antibodies – though this wasn’t a legal requirement.
The PM had called it a matter of “social responsibility.”
Shortly afterwards the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) did a flash poll that revealed that 82.7% of venues would be ignoring Government advice and would not require a negative test for entry.
Its believed that after footage emerged of packed clubs on Monday the government began drawing up plans to make being double jabbed a stipulation for packed venues – in hopes that it would persuade people under the age of 29 to take up the vaccine.
THE STORY OF CHANNEL U IS OUT IN OCTOBER.
A new documentary traces the history of seminal UK grime channel, Channel U
Channel U, the former UK music channel dedicated to British rap and grime, is the subject of a new documentary.
The new film, Home Invasion: The Story Of Channel U, traces the history of the pioneering channel through various interviews with the cast of artists who helped shape the platform. The film is due out on British online entertainment channel Link Up TV in October.
Launched in 2003 by Darren Platt, Channel U was responsible for catapulting the UK grime scene into the mainstream throughout the ’00s. Channel U ran for 15 years, and within this time managed to advance the careers of grime dons like Dizzee Rascal and Skepta.
Watch a trailer for the film below.
PIONEER DJ COLLABS WITH OFF-WHITE ON LIMITED EDITION CONTROLLER
Pioneer DJ and Virgil Abloh’s Off-White have collaborated on a new, limited edition controller, the DDJ-1000-OW. The controller, which will be available to purchase via a draw on the Selfridges app, is a re-modelling of the popular DDJ-1000 Rekordbox and Serato controller, adding a red strip to one of the decks. The OW model also adds a new ‘Sound Engineering’ logo to the controller.
Off-White has also launched a series of limited edition ‘Sound Engineering’ clothing to coincide with the release of the controller, including tees, hoodies, and a coach jacket.
Anyone interested in buying the DDJ-1000-OW can enter the draw through the Selfridges app, which can be downloaded here for iOS. Successful applicants will receive a notification and will have one hour to complete their purchase.
Written by Anthony Vanger
Additional research and reporting by Adam “Badger” Woolf
Additional Artist of The Week research and review by Rose Farman-Farma
Artwork by Gustav Balderdash
To join This Week In Music please send me an email: anthonyvanger@gmail.com