INDIANAPOLIS — "Life is so unexpected," Deanna Dixon said. "You never know what's going to lead to what."
Never did Dixon ever dream her biggest break in the biz would happen in her car, with an Uber customer in the backseat.
"He was like, 'Can I help your CashApp?' And I was like, 'Why?'" Dixon said. "He was like, 'I need you to get a dashcam put it in your car and record your videos.' And he sent me $150. And that $150 changed the entire trajectory of my life."
He noted Dixon's got pipes. It's a talent she honed early on at Emmanuel Temple. The 2002 Pike High School grad went on to pursue her dreams in Los Angeles, singing backup for Beyoncé at the Grammys and touring with Kanye West.
But gig-to-gig is a challenging life for a single mom.
"You don't always know your schedule, especially working for Kanye," Dixon said. "We will find out our schedule two days before. 'Hey, we're going to Italy.' Like really? I gotta get a babysitter and do all this like that quickly."
Putting family first, Dixon moved to Atlanta, near relatives, for her 7-year-old daughter.
"What I had imagined would happen did not happen. Phone was not ringing. Phone call sold separately. Availability included. I was available to nothing," Dixon said.
She calls it her deepest valley, becoming an Uber driver to pay the bills. And then, that customer sowed that $150 seed.
"I felt obligated to prove to him that he put it on good ground. So sure enough, I said I would and I did, I started recording my videos," Dixon said.
We caught up with Dixon back home visiting Indy, and she explained how she became a viral sensation as "The Rideshare Queen."
"I went to YouTube, and I started like educating myself on how to do reels on Instagram and posts on TikTok and all this stuff, and my first video that went viral was because of TikTok," Dixon said. "It got so big that Rihanna followed me on Instagram, girl, and I got a whole video dedicated to it. I'm like 'RiRi follows me!' I came back six months later and found him, gave him his money back, plus some interest and did a video with him. That video has 7 million views on TikTok."
It has led to sponsorships, a new car and new dreams.
"I feel seen," Dixon said. "I feel important. I feel valuable to the city of Indianapolis. And I would love for what I'm doing in my car to be its own show, like a real show on a network."
In the meantime, if you're in Atlanta, you can book a Rideshare Queen ride in advance.
"This is my favorite chapter, Anne, this is my favorite chapter. And I'm present for it all," Dixon said. "I hope that my story encourages people that you can create your stage wherever you are."