Music Box: Wizkid Long Live Lagos - "WizKid Prepares to Make History on a Global Stage” (Documentary Review)
- The Real Perspectives
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
Reel Perspectives
December 17, 2025
HBO’s Music Box installment follows WizKid as he prepares for a historic stadium performance — and reflects on culture, responsibility, and global influence without compromise.
WizKid: Long Live Lagos Is a Love Letter to Legacy and Nigeria
WizKid: Long Live Lagos follows Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun — better known as WizKid — at a defining moment in his career. As he prepares for a historic performance at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the HBO Music Box documentary frames the milestone not as an arrival, but as a legacy: an artist reflecting on what it means to carry culture, responsibility, and purpose onto a global stage.
From the opening strains of “Essence,” his global hit featuring Tems, the film makes clear that WizKid’s ascent is inseparable from Lagos itself. The city is not a backdrop to his success, but its source — a throughline the documentary returns to as it traces his journey between Nigeria and the United Kingdom.
Director Karam Gill articulates the film’s intention beautifully:
“I made this film to explore how art and music can shift global perception and influence… and I think Wizkid and everything he symbolizes is a perfect example of that.”
And who is this WizKid, you might ask? Born and raised in Lagos, Balogun built his career in a country with limited music industry infrastructure, relying instead on what the documentary repeatedly emphasizes: talent, persistence, and belief.
Long Live Lagos suggests his ambition was never solely personal. It was rooted in a desire to reshape how Africa is seen — and heard — beyond the echoes of colonization and long-standing global misperceptions.
Rather than offering a primer on Afrobeats, Long Live Lagos allows the genre to speak for itself. WizKid’s sound — shaped by predecessors like Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti and Nigeria’s cultural history — emerges as both contemporary and deeply rooted, blending tradition with global reach without sacrificing cultural specificity.
Watch the official HBO trailer for WizKid: Long Live Lagos below:
As WizKid prepares to become the first African artist to headline Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the documentary situates the moment within the complicated history between Nigeria and the U.K. Rather than framing global recognition as validation from the West, the film presents it as a reclamation of narrative.
“The Tottenham moment is bigger than music,” WizKid reflects. “It’s something bigger for the culture as a whole.”
That perspective carries through the documentary’s most intimate moments. While celebrating unprecedented professional milestones, WizKid is also navigating personal loss, as his mother undergoes treatment and is unable to attend the concert. The juxtaposition underscores the film’s central tension: the cost of global success and the grounding force of home.
The series also amplifies the voices of fans who have followed WizKid’s rise from Lagos to the world stage. One fan, known as Starboy, recounts his struggle to secure a visa to attend the concert — a sobering reminder that even as African music travels freely online, the people behind it often cannot.
By the documentary’s end, WizKid turns inward, reflecting not on fame, but on meaning:
“At the end of the day, people decide what they want to see you as. What you stand for. That’s what matters.”
WizKid: Long Live Lagos ultimately argues that legacy isn’t defined by stadium size or chart positions, but by cultural impact — and by the refusal to shrink oneself for global acceptance.
Legacy Level: 9 / 10
Historic stakes, emotional depth, and cultural clarity collide in WizKid: Long Live Lagos. The documentary resists spectacle for spectacle’s sake, instead offering a thoughtful meditation on what it means to build success without abandoning origin. The result is a resonant, purposeful portrait that understands legacy as something earned — not bestowed.
What’s Next? ✨
The next documentary in the franchise, Counting Crows: Have You Seen Me Lately?, premieres this Thursday and offers a revealing portrait of frontman Adam Duritz, examining the emotional and creative toll of the band’s meteoric rise. Directed by Amy Scott, the film traces Duritz’s navigation of early fame while crafting a raw, defiant follow-up to the band’s iconic debut album.
You can watch the next trailer here: