Behind the rap: Toronto woman finds viral fame after husband filmed her singing in the car

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Over the weekend, Chelsea Ranger, 30, and Paulo Salomao, 37, were driving in their car in Toronto’s east end when Salt-N-Pepa’s “None of Your Business” came on the radio.

Ranger immediately started rapping along. Salomao secretly started filming her.

He uploaded the cute moment to YouTube and Reddit with the title “The cutest gangsta I know, my wife,” not expecting what happened next: the video was viewed more than 9.7 million times.

“My wife is THE most beautiful human being I know and I absolutely adore the moments I get to watch her being herself. Don’t be shy people, say you love your loved ones, treasure the little moments and don’t worry if people are judging you!” Salomao wrote on YouTube.

“I kid you not, I thought maybe 100 people might talk about it,” Salomao, a partner and creative director at East End Project, a digital media studio, told the Toronto Star. “It’s the first thing I tell clients. You can’t tell if something will go viral. You can’t plan it.”

The Washington Post asked Salomao why he thinks his 40-second video struck such a chord with viewers. (Ranger’s not even a particularly good rapper!)

“I think the inside view of a couple enjoying each other’s company is the main thing,” Salomao told the Post. “Maybe with so much vulgarism and people trying to gain attention online, when something true and innocent comes along, it gets the credit it deserves?”

He admitted that he was still a little “shell-shocked” by the video’s success:

“The whole ‘going viral’ felt a little scary — by scary I mean, not knowing what to do really or what’s happening or where it will lead,” Salomao said. “If you are like us, and don’t know anyone famous or don’t have any friends who have gotten so much attention like this, it can be quite surprising.”

He told the Washington Post that the comments have inspired him and his wife to think about creating more short videos that “share positive simple moments in life.”

Salomao added that his wife, a part-time dental hygienist who is studying to be an osteopath, has no intentions of quitting her day job. She just loves to sing and dance.

“We’re always goofing around,” he told the Toronto Star. “We dance with the cat.”

Now that we would like to see.