Wizkid’s HBO Documentary “Long Live Lagos” Is Set to Make a Powerful Global Debut on December 11

 

HBO is premiering a highly anticipated documentary that spotlights the meteoric rise of Nigerian superstar Wizkid. Titled ‘Music Box: Wizkid – Long Live Lagos’, premiering on December 11, 2025, at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and streaming on Max, stands as a beacon of cultural reclamation and storytelling.

Directed by the sharp-eyed Karam Gill, known for his work on Untrapped: The Story of Lil Baby, the documentary traces Wizkid’s journey from his humble beginnings in Lagos to becoming a global force. Executive produced by Bill Simmons, this 83-minute film arrives as the crown jewel in HBO’s acclaimed Music Box series, a platform that’s previously dissected the raw edges of icons like Lil Baby and Tekashi 6ix9ine. But here, the narrative pulses with something deeper: the audacious rise of Afrobeats as a force that demands the world listen. Wizkid, to those who knew him before the Grammys and sold-out arenas, emerges not as a mere survivor of Lagos’s unforgiving grind but as its alchemist. The film traces his improbable ascent from a teenage dreamer in a city where power outages and poverty are routine to the trailblazer who became the first African artist to headline London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, a critical moment in his career.

New doc premiering on @HBO.
Dec 11th!  #WizkidLongLiveLagos  pic.twitter.com/zGcFx2duv1

— Wizkid (@wizkidayo) November 24, 2025

That milestone, captured in heart-pounding footage, isn’t framed as a personal victory alone but as a seismic shift and a rebellion against the lingering stereotypes that once confined African music to footnotes in Western playlists. As Femi Kuti, the Afrobeat legend himself, intones in the trailer, Wizkid is “a symbol of hope” for a continent long starved of its own spotlights. Through intimate interviews with his partner and manager Jada Pollock, UK radio host Julie Adenuga, and early collaborators like Sunday Are, the documentary peels back the glamour to reveal the quiet revolutions: how Wizkid’s fusion of R&B, dancehall, and Yoruba soul climbed the charts, dismantled gates, and ultimately paved the way for a generation of artists to claim their inheritance.

What elevates ‘Long Live Lagos‘ beyond standard biopic fare is its unflinching gaze at the broader canvas. The documentary is a meditation on post-colonial identity, where Wizkid’s global acclaim becomes a weapon to honour and amplify African narratives.

The documentary doesn’t just focus on the glitz of the concert; it also explores the weight of that achievement, the emotions behind it, and how it represents a statement on African identity and global recognition.