Tay Zonday’s Life 18 Years After ‘Chocolate Rain’: How He Navigated Viral YouTube Fame
Tay Zonday, whose real name is Adam Nyerere Bahner, uploaded his original song “Chocolate Rain” to YouTube on April 23, 2007. The video has since accumulated over 142 million views, making it his most popular video to date. But the years that followed reveal a far more complex story than a five-minute viral clip.
Tay Zonday Went Viral Before Influencer Culture Existed
When Zonday’s song took off, there was no template for handling sudden internet fame. He called his video a “defining moment” for YouTube and moved to Los Angeles to pursue opportunities. The response was overwhelming.
“I did dozens of radio interviews over a period of weeks in the summer of 2007. I fielded hundreds of solicitations to coauthor books, sign with major music labels, perform at private events and do brand deals. It was very sudden,” he told Racket. “My brother helped as a manager-caretaker but we were still overwhelmed.”
Opening Up About His Diagnosis
Fifteen years after going viral, Zonday shared with Racket what he didn’t know about himself during the height of his fame.
“In recent years, I’ve achieved a much better understanding of my psychiatric needs as an autistic adult,” he said. “At the time I went viral in 2007, I didn’t understand the importance of that diagnosis. (I had been diagnosed with Asperger’s, now called autism spectrum disorder, along with many other things as a teenager.) I was living in a lot of sensory suffering without connecting the dots.”
He appeared on Jimmy Kimmel twice and opened for Girl Talk at First Avenue during that period. His description of the experience was honest: “When the curtain came up on Jimmy Kimmel and the crowd screamed, I wish I was clear that autistic hyperacusis (a neurological pain and fear response to sound) is why I felt crushed and like a ghost in my own body.”
Zonday also described struggling with dyspraxia, which he called “a brain-body disconnect that often correlates with autism.” It affected his ability to emote during performances and play the piano. “Now I have terminology, but for much of my adult life I just suffered silently. I became frustrated because none of my efforts to emulate the best examples set by non-autistic role-models were the correct choice for me.”
His Net Worth Is ‘Technically Negative’
Zonday’s financial picture, as he described it to Racket, was blunt. “Some Los Angeles years got quite lean financially and my parents bailed me out. A lot of people who get bailed out by family don’t admit it. I have no shame. I don’t believe in meritocracy. I believe in grace and luck. Some months, my family has kept me from being homeless. In fact, my net worth right now is technically negative.”
His income comes from music residuals, voice work, teaching voice-over, Cameo videos and a few other ad-hoc sources. He still posts singing videos on Instagram and periodically releases original songs and covers on YouTube.
When asked what he’d do differently, Zonday’s answer was specific: “If I was 22 again, I might pursue a nice, boring job at the Social Security Administration. Or maybe I’d become a radiologist. Interpreting scans seems very peaceful. My high school biology teacher told me to become an actuary. I should have listened.”
This article was created by content specialists using various tools, including AI.
