In the video for “Kodaikanal Won’t,” rapper and activist Sofia Ashraf borrows the beat from Nicki Minaj's "Anaconda," and turns it into a protest track for the ages. In the song, Ashraf calls Unilever executives out by name, taking them to task for the environmental damage left by a thermometer plant that the company closed down 14 years ago.
Activists from Kodaikanal, a city in the state of Tamil Nadu, India, have been speaking on this issue for years, citing the increased level of mercury in the region's soil and water as well as the deaths of former factory workers to mercury poisoning. Ashraf’s song urges the CEO of Unilever, Paul Polman, to compensate the former workers of the factory and to contribute to clean up efforts in the region.
This isn't Ashraf's first time taking shots at a major chemical company with a song, either. in 2008, she took Dow Chemical to task with “Don’t Work for Dow,” in which she called the company out for its response to the Bhopal disaster in 1984.
Check out the video and petition above.