Hot 100 First-Timers: Mustafa Scores First Chart Hit With Metro Boomin Collab ‘Walk Em Down’

Sudanese-Canadian creator Mustafa has earned numerous achievements in his career, as a songwriter, poet and filmmaker, but as of the latest Dec. 17 Billboard chart ranking, he’s now officially a Billboard Hot 100-charting recording artist.

“Walk Em Down (Don’t Kill Civilians),” credited to Metro Boomin and 21 Savage featuring Mustafa, debuts at No. 52 on the Hot 100 with 12.9 million official streams in the U.S. in its opening week (Dec. 2-8), according to Luminate.

The song is from Metro Boomin’s new LP Heroes & Villains, which bounds in at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 185,000 equivalent album units earned. It’s the producer’s third leader, after 2018’s Not All Heroes Wear Capes and 2020’s Savage Mode II, with 21 Savage.

Mustafa (full name Mustafa Ahmed) is a multi-faceted talent – and has already topped the Hot 100 as a writer, as he co-penned Jonas Brothers’ 2019 No. 1 “Sucker.” He also co-wrote Shawn Mendes and Justin Bieber’s “Monster” (No. 8 peak, 2020) and The Weeknd’s “Attention” (No. 67, 2016). The latter is from The Weeknd’s Starboy LP, took home the 2019 Grammy trophy for best urban contemporary album (now best progressive R&B album). The following year, Camila Cabello’s Camila earned a nomination for best pop vocal album; Mustafa co-wrote the set’s “All These Years.”

Mustafa released his debut solo studio album, When Smoke Rises, in May 2020. The set was produced by James Blake, Frank Dukes and Jamie XX and includes a feature from Sampha on the track “Capo.” It took home the trophy for alternative album of the year at the 2022 Juno Awards.

Outside of his work as a musician, Mustafa (who often performs under the stage name Mustafa The Poet) produced and directed Remember Me, Toronto in 2019, a short documentary film about gun violence and hip-hop culture in Canada. It includes appearances by Drake, Baka Not Nice, Pilla B, Pressa and more.

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