STREAM EXCLUSIVE ORIGINALS

Silento Breaks Down 'Whip/Nae Nae's' Overnight Success

Rapper unlocks the secret to his viral dance craze.

Thousands of people across the country are suffering from whiplash thanks to Silento’s breakout hit “Whip/Nae Nae.”

| CLICK HERE TO SEE SILENTO'S ROAD TO THE BET AWARDS |

It’s being performed at high school graduations and in living rooms and backyards all over, but the song's overnight success could not have been planned.

During an interview at the 2015 BET Awards with HipHopWired, Silento revealed, “At first…I was having fun at school; just singing out of my mouth. And I recorded for 15 seconds and put it on my Instagram.”

What happened next was history. When the 17-year-old from ATL saw how popular his clip on IG had gotten, he did what all good business men do, he capitalized; turning it into a full song, which would change his life.

The viral song soon earned him a gold-selling single and helped him ink a record deal with major recording label Capital Records. But contrary to what many believe, Silento says the buck doesn’t stop here. “Before [“Whip/Nae Nae”], I was making other music; rapping and singing. That’s just the attention track, he says humbly.

Watch the Black-ish kids Nae Nae (and Tracee Ellis Ross do the Stank Leg ... it's so stinky) at the 2015 BET Awards in the exclusive video below.

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(Photo: Alberto Rodriguez/BET/Getty Images for BET)

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