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Dua Lipa & Mustafa
Culture
Dua Lipa and Mustafa Talk About Their Ongoing Friendship 'Dictated Through Lines of Poetry'
Over the weekend, the Sudanese-Canadian artist joined the British pop star at London’s Literature Festival at Southbank Centre.
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Dua Lipa and Mustafa are big fans of poetry — and they’re sharing that love with London’s literary scene.
The British pop superstar and the Canadian singer, poet and activist took the stage at London’s Literature Festival on Oct. 24 to talk about “the power of poetry.” It was a moving conversation, where the longtime friends described poetry as “the words that give us strength to understand the world around us.”
While Mustafa has been recently recognized for his music — most recently being awarded the first-ever SOCAN Song Prize in 2025 for his song "Gaza Is Calling" — poetry is a source of inspiration for the Toronto-born artist once known as Mustafa The Poet. Last year, he released Nour, a free poetry publication, focusing on topics including religious devotion, love, grief and everyday rituals.
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During his conversation with Lipa, he explained how poetry has been at the foundation of their friendship. “When I think about even our relationship through the years, timestamps of our friendship have been dictated through lines of poetry,” he said.
“When we share poems in our text exchanges, those are moments in time. And we are protecting those moments through the language of poetry,” he continued, further explaining that he wants to be a “foot soldier for people’s work.”
Mustafa explained the impact poetry has had on his artistry, saying it “has become my map. So much of how I move through the world is through the language of poetry.” He went on to read a poem from Nour, which captivated the crowd.
“I want to be a simple man, but I can’t keep my feet on the ground,” he said. “How long must this bruise persist before it matches the sky? Oh lord, you gave me a forest, but I don’t have space left in my chest. Too many long texts from boys who’ve left their bodies.”
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Towards the end of their conversation, Lipa praised Mustafa’s presence at the lit festival and for “sharing this moment and your words with me.” To solidify her gratitude, she dedicated Nour Hindi’s poem, “Ode to Friendship,” to him, before reading it aloud.
In addition to their conversation and personal readings, poets Victoria Chang and Safia Elhillo shared their own poems.
Dua Lipa and Mustafa have had multiple intersections. They shared the stage at Lipa’s show in Toronto last September, when they sang his Prism Prize-winning track “Name of God,” and she called him “one of my closest friends in the world.”
From Oct. 21-Nov. 1, the “Don’t Start Now” singer has curated several events in partnership with her acclaimed book club, Service95. Lipa calls curating the lineup “a true joy,” sharing that the festival will include literary icons and emerging voices from across the arts.
“I wanted to create a space that brings together some of the most exciting writers, poets, and thinkers from around the globe,” she said. During the festival’s opening weekend, Author Zadie Smith and musician Patti Smith joined Lipa on stage.
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