One look at Heaven King – the precocious 6-year-old YouTube sensation who stole our hearts in a now viral “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae) video – and it appears that she’s always lived in the bright lights of entertainment. But a new video, directed by her mother, is showing us that the road to success wasn’t always a walk in the park.
In collaboration with Grammy nominee Andra Day, Tianne King is using dance and music to showcase her life raising Heaven. And beware; it’s a tearjerker.
Set to Day’s emotional ballad ‘Rise Up,’ we watch as King and a baby Heaven, played by a child actress, go through the struggles of single parenting. From unpaid bills to eviction, we see King endure, surviving from the strength of her daughter.
“The visuals are beautiful and they absolutely speak to overcoming,” Day told ESSENCE. “They speak to me personally because myself and my family have had to overcome poverty and trying to make a dream come true when you are barely making it day to day.”
King and Day first met in NYC, after the singer agreed to take part in the music video.
“Mother and daughter relationships are what nations are built on. I think this story is so important to tell, particularly right now, because the value of women is under attack. This video shows the strength of a woman, the loyalty, the love, the selflessness, and resilience. These are all qualities of a great leader and when I watch this video I can see these are qualities that Tianne is building in Heaven,” Day said.
The new video is just one of many projects King and Heaven have in the works for their fans. The mother-daughter duo has been serving a reality-like series on go90, through a partnership with Mommy & Me Entertainment and DanceOn. And if you enjoyed watching Heaven and mom twirl and overcome in the video, you’ll love Raising Heaven.
“Heaven is my number one priority and I can’t wait to show the love and passion we share for family, friends and of course, dance,” King said. “Most importantly, we want to show that it doesn’t matter how many millions of views or incredible opportunities you have. You can never stop chasing your dreams!”
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