A Shenseea: Her Top 5 International Moments
Shenseea has been making waves across Dancehall since the Jiggle Jiggle and Loodi days, however, it was her link up with Jamaican-born international producer Rvssian and signing to the Rich Immigrants label (Interscope Records) that took her career to new heights. Born Chinsea Lee in Manchester Parish, she has always been transparent about her humble beginnings, providing tours of the home she grew up in and wrote her first song from.
Even before her name started buzzing abroad, Shenseea appeared on tracks alongside Christina Aguilera (Right Moves off the Liberation album) and on Santigold’s Don’t Blame Me from I Don’t Want: The Gold Fire Sessions. She also graced international stages for years, notorious for hitting the road months on end before the pandemic.
Nowadays, the Romeich Entertainment star has been spending quite a lot of time overseas, which has sparked speculation about the collaborations on her upcoming debut album. In the meantime, we are taking a look back at some of the ShenYeng diva’s 5top international moments. Lock in!
Blessed featuring Tyga
Shortly after joining the Rich Immigrants family, Shenseea blessed us (literally) with a top gyal anthem that displayed her gratitude and gangsta simultaneously.
“First thing in the morning… when I wake up… thank GOD for LIFE.. then look in the mirror, say ‘B*tch, I’m the best best best.” The single was polarizing among fans. While the lyrics, vocals, production and accompanying visuals were top notch, some felt they could do without the Tyga feature or begged Shen to go back to her typical dancehall style. However, the single was a beautiful introduction to the international audience and a step up in quality for the dancehall star overall. It set the tone for more collabs to come.
IDKW featuring Swae Lee & Young Thug
This song was a sleeper hit that may have went over some people’s heads. Sampling Delroy Wilson’s I Don’t Know Why, Shenseea teamed up with Swae Lee and Young Thug for a sultry yet swagged out love song that could have gotten a bit more love from both the dancehall and hip-hop crowds. It’s a catchy bop that may have been a great lead-in single for a full-length project, but by itself didn’t excite as much as her singles and freestyles. However, it was a fun moment for Shenseea who looked A-1 in the music video which took a sci-fi approach at shining light on the manufactured look that is popular in today’s image in an attempt to capitalize on male attention. Shenseea rescues Rvssian from a Kylie Jenner-like super-enhanced she-bot while busting a rhyme or two at a lively dance. This is definitely a song to revisit when you want to turn up.
Genius Open Mic
Shortly after Blessed dropped, she burst our brains again during an exclusive performance for Genius.com, with crisp, controlled vocals and an additional rap-style verse that proved that ShenYeng can hold her own in multiple arenas. Some even argued that her verse was better than Tyga’s and should have been included in the original. Tyga did his thing, but it would have been dope for this to be released officially, perhaps with both versed included. It’s also worth noting that she has a braided-ponytail flip during the performance that would even make Beyonce proud.
BET Hip-Hop Awards Cypher
This is the performance that took really introduced Shenseea to an international audience, bringing her into millions of television screens around America and worldwide and having her name buzzing and trending on Twitter that night. BET Hip-Hop Award cyphers are known to be pretty elite, and she held her own in a special yaad edition that included Skip Marley, Koffee, Beenie Man and Bounty Killer. Talk about pressure! Shen floated and social media was instantly buzzing as people praised her and speculated on who this fresh new face and killer voice could be.
Don’t Rush Freestyle
If the BET cypher was a formal introduction, then her “Don’t Rush” freestyle that surfaced is what took her to new levels and over 8 million YouTube views.
Receiving much critical claim on social media and going viral almost immediately, Shenseea rode the Afrobeats riddim with a rapid-fire rap freestyle that earned the respect of everyone from Safaree Samuels to Missy Elliot. Some even likened her to Nicki Minaj, a comparison that has come up a few times in her career however it was recently that people began to realize that Shen Yeng really has some bars under her belt. Hopefully, it’s just a taste of what’s to come.