All Mumu's People - Mustafa 1983

father, mother, grandmother/son & grandson

When I sit down with Mumu, I realise Harlem isn’t just where he is from. It is the place that raised him with rules you only learn by living them, from knowing which streets truly count as Harlem to understanding why being outside in the 90s felt like the whole world. We talk block parties, rap battles, water fights, and the way the crack epidemic of the 1980s lingered into childhood memories that still sit close to the surface. He tells a story every New Yorker feels in their bones: getting lost on the bus as a kid, ending up far from home at night, and relying on a stranger to help you find your way back.

From there, our conversation turns inward to family, faith, and the push and pull of identity. Mumu describes a father shaped by Islam and activism, determined to hold a huge blended family together, and a mum who is deeply loved but seriously unwell. He talks about what it feels like to be Black, raised Muslim, and know you are gay from early on while believing you must hide it to stay safe, even from the person you trust most. We explore the real friction between Islam and church, and what happens when religion becomes control rather than comfort.

We move into adulthood through music, work, and survival. Mumu shares the sounds that shaped Harlem culture, his job supervising security in New York City subway stations, and what the trains felt like during COVID when the city went quiet but danger did not. You will also hear the surprising turning point that comes from juggling, plus his plan to save, invest, travel, retire within a decade, and maybe leave New York for land where he can grow his own food.

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