She’s a preschooler and a rap star
Plus: Top news of the week — CMS phases out hundreds of positions; triplexes rise in south Charlotte; Longtime WBT reporter passes away; Peppers to be inducted into Pro Football Hall of Fame
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5-year-old viral rapping sensation Savannah ‘VanVan’ McConneaughey has gone from freestyling on the playground to performing on the big stage
Savannah “VanVan” McConneaughey performed two original songs with her father, Reggie, and the Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestra last month at the Knight Theater in uptown. (Photo by Lindsey Banks)
by Lindsey Banks
After the crowd stopped cheering, Savannah “VanVan” McConneaughey took her last bow and walked off the Knight Theater stage, which she had just shared with the Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestra. She had one desire at the top of her mind: a bag of mini pretzels.
Chalk it up to being 5.
VanVan is a preschool rapping sensation, and aside from being a burgeoning social media star, she’s a typical kid who loves the Australian cartoon Bluey, pretzels and the colors pink, purple and blue.
Savannah performed her two original singles alongside her father, Reggie McConneaughey, and the youth symphony as part of the Black Notes Project, a weekend music festival that celebrated Black music and artistry. It was produced by The Sol Kitchen in collaboration with Blumenthal Arts.
To calm her nerves before she took the stage, Savannah practiced some self-affirmation. “I just smiled to myself and say in my mind, I say, ‘I can do this. I believe in myself,’” Savannah told The Ledger after her performance.
Savannah, who’s from the Salisbury area, has been singing and rapping since she was 2 years old. She’s known for her freestyling, which means she comes up with lyrics on the spot. Savannah’s parents, Reggie and Kenya, decided to start recording her and posting it to TikTok and Instagram.
She dropped her first single last year called “Playing Outside Everyday,” with lyrics like, “My name is VanVan/I ain’t come to play/Playing outside everyday,” and, “First I wake up, then brush my teeth/I put on my clothes, then I put on my sneaks/Mom and Dad, please take me to the park/You know we have to get home before it gets dark.”
Savannah now has over 161,400 TikTok followers and more than 366,000 Instagram followers. Her parents run her page and share photos and videos of Savannah’s freestyling, performances and outfits (which are styled by her mom). They also share glimpses into Savannah’s life, like her favorite toys, food and music.
“My favorite part about performing is that I do what I like to do, and I get to like, say what I like to do,” Savannah told The Ledger. “Playing Outside Everyday” is about playing outside on the playground, and her second single, “PULL OUT THE KEYS,” is about her father driving her to the mall.
“She really loves music,” Reggie McConneaughey said. “She loves being in front of the screen, being in front of the camera.”
Journey to going viral: When Savannah was a baby, her parents posted cute photos and videos that garnered thousands of likes on social media. But her first singing video that went viral was a performance at her church. Savannah sang the hymn “Nothing Else Matters.” (TikTok deleted her first account due to age restrictions so the video is no longer up. Her dad worked with TikTok to make a new account.)
“People started going to her page then,” said Reggie, who is a high school teacher. Kenya works as a sourcing associate for Novant Health.
“During Covid, I was able to be home from teaching, and that’s how I found out that she really had a love for music,” Reggie said. “I just jumped on it because me being a teacher, you try to cultivate those things that kids can take and learn from.”
At just 2 years old, Savannah would memorize lyrics and sing along to the animated YouTube show Cocomelon and to Disney and Nickelodeon songs.
During the pandemic, Savannah played outside almost every day. One day, her dad asked Savannah to freestyle about it.
“We weren’t even going to turn it into a song; we were just playing,” Reggie said. He posted the video and, “People were like, ‘Oh, that’d be a hot song.’ And I’m like, ‘You know what? It will be,’ so me and Savannah just start working on it, and that's how it came about.”
“Playing Outside Everyday” went viral.
Currently, her most viral video has over 2.5 million views. It’s a clip of her freestyling last summer.
Reggie helps her structure the songs and practice repetition, he said, but Savannah listens to the beat and writes the rhymes.
Opportunities and offers started to roll in, like a feature in Essence magazine and a performance at the Kennedy Center Honors concert for Queen Latifah in December. Savannah has a manager and brand deals with Bojangles Coliseum and Alexander Wang, Reggie said.
Reggie said that Savannah gets recognized when they’re out in public, like she did at SouthPark Mall earlier this month. She revels in the attention.
“She loves to take pictures,” Reggie said. “She knows how to sign her name now so she can do autographs. She’s a real people person.”
What’s next for VanVan? Savannah has been able to make some money from her songs, performances and social media pages, although her dad declined to be specific on how much she brings in. He said he and his wife both still work, and while Savannah gets to spend some of her earnings on fun things like American Girl dolls, they’re using the opportunity to teach her about the importance of saving.
“She wants to be a billionaire — that’s all out of her mouth,” Reggie said with a laugh.
Savannah’s baby sister, Summer, was born last August, and Savannah already has big plans for the sisters’ musical career.
“According to Vannah, they’re going to be like rap sisters,” Reggie said.
He and Kenya briefly considered homeschooling Savannah next year once she starts kindergarten but decided against it. She loves school, and they want her to interact and learn alongside her peers.
Savannah is currently working on her first album, which is set to come out later this year. Reggie said to expect eight to nine original songs.
Lindsey Banks is a staff reporter for The Ledger: lindsey@cltledger.com
Today’s supporting sponsor is Christian McBride, The Movement Revisited | Blumenthal Performing Arts (blumenthalarts.org). Grammy Award®-winning bassist and host of NPR’s Jazz Night in America Christian McBride presents his acclaimed opus “The Movement Revisited: A Musical Portrait of Four Icons” at Belk Theater.
This week in Charlotte: CMS to shed positions as Covid relief ends; triplexes start rising with new UDO in place; longtime WBT reporter dies; more renovations at the airport
On Saturdays, The Ledger sifts through the local news of the week and links to the top articles — even if they appeared somewhere else. We’ll help you get caught up. That’s what Saturdays are for.
Education
Private school ‘Opportunity Scholarships’ skyrocket: (Observer) A record number of families are applying for state funding to help them pay for enrolling their children in private schools, after the state legislature last year expanded the scholarships. Families can receive private school vouchers ranging from $3,360 to $7,468 per child, depending on income. Applications opened Feb. 1, and the deadline to apply is March 1. Details here.
CMS to phase out 768 positions: (Observer) Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools plans to cut 768 positions out of its 20,000+ workforce, as Covid-related funding is running out and CMS had elected to use $60M of the money it received on staff positions. CMS is hoping to shift people in those jobs to new roles in positions that are unfilled.
CMS, Atrium team up: (Ledger 🔒) Atrium Health and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools are partnering to create an early college program at Hawthorne Academy of Health Sciences that will offer students the chance to earn health care industry credentials and grow the next generation of health care workers.
Politics
Political candidate hits a jackpot: (North State Journal) A Republican running for Congress in the Raleigh area won nearly $760,000 in the N.C. lottery’s Cash5 game. “We are focused on doing everything we can to get out the vote ahead of the March 5th primary and hoping lightning strikes twice!” Josh McConkey said.
Longtime commissioners fail to get endorsement: (WFAE) The Black Political Caucus of Charlotte-Mecklenburg has declined to endorse longtime Democratic Mecklenburg County commissioners Pat Cotham and Vilma Leake, who are running for re-election this year.
Local news
Here come the triplexes: (Ledger🔒) Eight months after new Charlotte development rules took effect, new triplex homes are under construction in south Charlotte. They’re bringing to life the city’s vision for creating a mix of housing options, while also raising concerns from some neighbors that denser housing could harm the character of established neighborhoods and do little to improve housing affordability.
Public hearing in March for Piper Glen rezoning: One of Charlotte’s most controversial upcoming rezonings, with plans to build 640 homes near Piper Glen in south Charlotte, is having its public hearing pushed back by a month, to March 18, council member Ed Driggs said in a letter to constituents.
In memoriam: (WBT) Longtime WBT radio reporter Jim Barroll passed away Monday at age 71 after a brief illness. WBT’s Bo Thompson recorded a 9-minute audio tribute to Barroll, who was at the station from 1985 to 2016.
Business
More airport renovations planned: (Ledger 🔒) The Charlotte airport has received building permits for the renovation of Concourse E, which is its sprawling regional jet terminal. We’ve got the list of what’s included, based on the description of the $46.1M in contracts presented to Charlotte City Council.
Tax money for uptown apartments: (WFAE) The Charlotte City Council seems ready to offer a property tax rebate to Asana Partners and MRP Realty, who want to turn Duke Energy’s old headquarters into 440 apartments. Council members this week from both parties sounded supportive of the idea pitched by city staff. The city has been looking for ways to help stem the tide of uptown office vacancies.
Sports
Hornets trading for Seth Curry: The Charlotte Hornets are working to trade P.J. Washington to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for former Duke and Charlotte Christian star Seth Curry, Grant Williams and a future draft pick, ESPN reported. Separately, the Hornets are said to be trading Gordon Hayward to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Tre Mann, Vasilije Micicand and Davis Bertans.
ACC Tournament coming to Charlotte: (WRAL) The Atlantic Coast Conference’s men’s basketball tournament will be held at Charlotte’s Spectrum Center in 2025, 2026 and 2028, the ACC said Thursday. Women’s basketball, baseball and lacrosse will also play tournament championships in Charlotte.
Julius Peppers to be Hall of Famer: (ESPN) Former Carolina Panther defensive end Julius Peppers will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He played football and basketball at UNC Chapel Hill and played for the Panthers from 2002-2009 and again from 2017-2018.
From the Ledger family of newsletters
Atrium Health is a unit of ‘local government’ like no other: Atrium Health, like other nonprofit hospital chains nationwide, has gobbled up community hospitals, specialty clinics and physician practices in its quest to grow. It also has a key advantage: It is a “unit of local government.” Yet while Atrium enjoys all the benefits of being public, it operates very much like a private corporation.
Wednesday (🔒)
New podcast: In a recent episode of The Charlotte Ledger Podcast, Brian “Heff” Heffron discusses his experiences in the industry, how it has evolved over the years and what it takes to be successful in comedy.
Nominations are open for The Ledger’s 40 Over 40 Awards, presented by U.S. Bank. Help us recognize people in their 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s and beyond who are making our city a better place.
UNC Charlotte finds creative uses for 5,000 used tennis balls: In the midst of Covid in 2020, staff at UNC Charlotte were doing what many of us were doing — cleaning out closets — when they came across a bundle of used tennis balls from the university’s tennis team. They found several innovative ways to put them to use that benefit both school kids and dogs awaiting adoption.
Friday (🔒)
New podcast: A mom of 3 returns to her law career after 14 years outside the courtroom. In this recent episode of the Charlotte Ledger podcast, Heather Call Fuller spoke with podcast host Steve Dunn of Miles Mediation and Arbitration.
🎬 New in The Ledger on Fridays: Info on independent movies at a locally owned cinema. Like The Ledger, The Independent Picture House (IPH), located at 4237 Raleigh St., is locally owned — an operation of the not-for-profit Charlotte Film Society. As part of a new partnership with the IPH, Ledger readers will begin seeing weekly information about their films in our Friday edition.
Ways of Life (🔒)
Decked out in his gear, Randy Duncan was sometimes mistaken as a Waffle House employee. “He just loved everything about it,” his daughter said.
It's a winding road to the future: We’ve been promised a future of self-driving cars, delivery drones and robots that bring us food. But we’re not there yet, WFAE’s Ely Portillo writes. A lot of buzzy new programs and technologies in Charlotte have fizzled.
📃Add something fun and worthwhile to your weekend to-do list: nominate someone for the Ledger’s 40 Over 40 Awards!
Nominations are open for The Ledger’s 40 Over 40 Awards, presented by U.S. Bank. Help us recognize people in their 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s and beyond who are making our city a better place.
Our awards are aimed at honoring unsung heroes in our community who are using the smarts they earned in their youth and are making a difference in our community. Nominations are quick, easy and free — fill one out today!
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Executive editor: Tony Mecia; Managing editor: Cristina Bolling; Staff writer: Lindsey Banks; Business manager: Brie Chrisman, BC Creative