American producer Diamanté Anthony Blackmon, known professionally as Gordo has dropped the highly anticipated music video for his song ‘Healing’, which he partnered with Canadian superstar Drake. In an unexpected turn, the music video features South African TikToker The Don Madfunz, who is affectionately known by his followers as Uncle Don.
Uncle Don has built a substantial following for himself on TikTok by posting his dancing videos with a carefully curated music selection while he is at work.
Directed by South African director Theo Skudra, the video depicts the everyday life of the TikToker whose real name is Emmanuel Nhlakanipho Madonsela, from his journey of walking a long distance to work, to enjoying some downtime with his family. The video was filmed in his hometown, a rural area called Dududu just outside of Durban.
In the opening scene of the video, we hear a voiceover from Uncle Don where he says, “We leave early so that we can take a very slow walk, we’re talking, we’re laughing. In the back of my mind I’m still saying like ‘God, give me a chance to have a car, this queen she can’t do this for all her life. I’m still hoping.”
“About 2 months ago while I was scrolling through TikTok, I stumbled upon THE DON Madfunz, a guy from South Africa with amazing energy. His taste in music grabbed my attention, but it was his dancing, smile and story that really hooked me,” Gordo explains in the music video description.
Gordo explains that when it came time to shoot the ‘Healing’ music video, he just could not shake Don’s story from his head, and knew he wanted him to be part of the project. That is when he liaised with Theo Skudra to make it happen.
He shared the news of the music video via his Instagram, stating that it was the most beautiful video that he had ever released.
“The most beautiful video I have ever released and I did it alongside my brother @champagnepapi … we all should be like Emmanuel. Thank you @theo.skudra you killed it… @ori.aryeh @zastenker @johannesklahr we did it, boys,” captions the producer.
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“With this video, I wanted to show that Don’s positive attitude and joyful spirit are something we can all learn from, no matter what we’re going through. His story is a reminder that even when life gets tough, you can still find reasons to smile. I hope this video touches your hearts like it did mine,” Gordo explained.
Local and international internet users felt the message portrayed by the video and expressed the emotional impact the video had on them.
“From Dancing on TikTok to being featured on Drake’s music video I’ve never been so happy for a stranger, congratulations,” one user says.
From Dancing on TikTok to be featured on Drake’s music video 😭👏🔥 i’ve never been so happy for a stranger , congratulations 🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/Ot9DH0sSNs
— Dr Chauke 📝 (@_BlackZA) July 31, 2024
