When Smoke Rises is the debut studio album by Canadian musician and poet Mustafa. It was released on May 28, 2021, through Mustafa's Regent Park Songs imprint. The album was produced by frequent collaborator and executive producer Frank Dukes with contributions from James Blake, Jamie xx, and Sampha, among others. The songs "Stay Alive", "Air Forces", "Ali", and "The Hearse" were released as singles prior to the album's release. The album is self-described as 'inner city folk music' and is thematically centered on Toronto's Regent Park community. The album was shortlisted for the 2021 Polaris Music Prize. Mustafa began working on demos in the late 2010s. Formal songwriting for the album began in 2019 in London with Swedish producer Simon Hessman also known as Simon on the Moon. Following the songwriting process, frequent collaborator Frank Dukes came in to produce the album. His production was inspired by the Smithsonian Folkways anthologies of Sudanese and Egyptian music which he samples throughout the record. Additionally, tracks on the album were produced by London-based musicians James Blake, who contributed to "Stay Alive" and "Come Back", and Jamie xx, who produced "Air Forces" and "The Hearse". Mustafa has noted that the songwriting of the record was influenced by Richie Havens, Joni Mitchell, and Leonard Cohen, as well as Sufjan Stevens' 2015 album Carrie & Lowell. The album's name is in reference to Smoke Dawg who is featured on the cover art alongside Mustafa.