From rural KZN to Drake music video: The inspiring journey of Emmanuel Madonsela

A man from rural Dududu village in KwaZulu-Natal, Emmanuel Madonsela, shares a day in his life after a video of rapper Drake and DJ Diamanté “Gordo” Blackmon with a new song put him in the spotlight. 

On July 31, the music video of Drake and Gordo's collaborative track Healing, from Gordo’s album Diamante was released, quickly capturing attention with its different and yet heartfelt storytelling narrative.

Gordo, a Guatemalan-American producer, with director Theo Skudra, documented the life of Madonsela, weaving a story of resilience and joy.

Masonsela captured the attention of the DJ through TikTok as he casually shared videos of himself dancing at his workplace. Madonsela is known as “The Don Madfunz”.

The music video garnered more than 480,000 views on YouTube within a day of its release and is trending at No 1.

It shows glimpses of Madonsela’s daily routine of him and his family waking up early before sunrise to prepare for work and his children for school, highlighting his commute to work at Makro using public transport with his family.

The music video opens with Madonsela narrating about how he would love God to bless him with a chance to get a car. He and his wife walk in the early morning hours to get a taxi to work.

“We leave early so we take a slow walk. We're talking, laughing, remembering something. At the back of my mind I'm still saying, 'God give me a chance to have a car. This queen [wife] here, she can't do this all her life.' Still hoping. Let's walk,” he says. 
 
This video captures heartwarming moments of his life, including his engaging dance videos with colleagues and quality family time. The climax is emotional and celebratory. Towards the end of the video Madonsela and his family watch the finished edit of the music video and are then surprised with a new car — a gift to ease his long daily commute.

Blackmon said after discovering Madonsela on TikTok, his story and dancing hooked him.

“About two 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 hooked me,” he said.

He elaborated on his motivation for featuring Madonsela: “The Don would walk nine miles to work every day despite the weather or his personal safety. He risked it all for his family and dreamed one day of his slow walk being over and being able to own a car so he can provide for his family. When I was thinking about the Healing music video, I couldn’t get Don out of my head. I knew I had to get him involved,” he said.

Madonsela's TikTok presence, with 199,000 followers and 3.6-million likes, initially gained traction through his slow dancing to popular songs. His most popular video which has 4-million views shows him dancing to J'Adore by Four7 featuring Tiffany. 

“While I couldn’t be there, the best part of this whole process was at the end when I surprised Don with a car. Seeing his reaction was priceless. It was one of his dreams to own a car and knowing I could help make that happen was incredible.

“With this video, I wanted to show 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,” said Gordo.

Though neither Drake nor Gordo appeared in person in the video, Gordo did make a virtual appearance via FaceTime to speak to Madonsela.

The video has received an enthusiastic response from South Africans and beyond, highlighting Madonsela’s remarkable journey from TikTok sensation to a featured star in a major music video.

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