Burna Boy Shines A Light on Niger-Delta Degradation with ‘Whiskey’ Documentary

Grammy award winning artist Burna Boy has released the visuals, in a documentary style, for his Whiskey track off his Love, Damini album. The 16-minute documentary takes a deep dive into the issues Burna sang about in the song. Whiskey is one of the tracks off his new album that Burna used to raise awareness on the issues his people in Port Harcourt are facing; it is arguably the most moving single off the album.

In this compelling documentary, Burna Boy speaks to themes of spirituality and reality that are laced with sadness, sorrow, suffering, pain, death, resilience, and hope. Burna Boy has always had a musical diversity that is astounding, and his best songs flesh out both cultures and significant moments in his life. He has been an advocate for the people of the Niger Delta and he has used his songs to draw attention to the region’s situation. In his Grammy-winning album Twice As Tall, he recorded Monsters You Made which highlighted the militancy created due to decades of neglect and failed promises.

The documentary also highlights the environmental degradation of the Niger Delta and the soot problem that’s confronting the region due to oil exploration, and the effects of the recent floods that plagued the country. The documentary begins with flashbacks to happier moments from 2021, when Burna visited his hometown of Port Harcourt after adding a Grammy to his list of honors. Little did they know as they were in the euphoria of joy and celebration of what was to come the following year, 2022, when the lovely oil city, which suffers from heavy black soot pollution due to illegal refinery deficits in the air and on the land, would witness more dire conditions.

In the teaser for the documentary, you can see an angry Port Harcourt resident saying: “My house has fallen. I don’t have a place to sleep. Many people have died. The streets have completely collapsed, many houses have been carried away by the flood. People are suffering.” He goes on to talk about all the challenges he and his fellow residents are facing such as flooded houses, farms and bad roads, as he expresses his anger at the government. The documentary ends on a hopeful note with a call to action for people to “donate to feed the most vulnerable in our community” alongside account details to send the donations to. 

Whiskey was produced by P2J, and the video was directed by Asurf Oluseyi with executive producers, Damini and Ronami Ogulu.

Watch the full Burna Boy Whiskey documentary below: