Shenseea Turns 25: Her Dancehall Career In Photos
Happy Birthday, Shenseea! The Dancehall pop star, best known for her hit song Blessed, turns 25 today, October 1.
“I’m so grateful to be alive!” she wrote in an Instagram post today announcing her Earth Strong. Here’s a look back at her career in music over the last five years.
Looking barely over 100lbs, Shenseea, whose real name is Chinsea Lee, shared this undated throwback photo of herself last year, and vowed that she’ll “never be broke again”.
The Manchester native has long been determined to become the superstar that she is today. After graduating from Mona High School in Kingston, she transitioned to Exed Community College to study Entertainment Management. However, financial constraints prevented her from continuing. But being the strong-willed determined woman she has shown us through her current career, she never stopped working toward her goal.
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Last year, Shenseea also shared this throwback photo from her days as a bottle girl for Romeich Entertainment, around the same time that she released her first song, Jiggle Jiggle, in 2016.
“I finished writing this song 5am in the morning while my baby slept!” she wrote alongside the share. “I love this picture because this was the day I served some of the top dancehall artistes and businessmen..brought out all their bottles, food etc. I then heard my song at the party and no one knew it was me except my team and the DJ!”
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In 2017, Shenseea’s breakthrough song Loodi with Vybz Kartel positioned her as a staple in Dancehall. In the 2017 On Stage interview with Winford Williams, her manager Romeich Major spoke highly of Shenseea’s discipline and dedication to her craft, and revealed his confidence that she will surpass all expectations.
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In 2018, the Dancehall Princess released singles such as Trending Gyal, Love I Got For U, and Sheng Yeng Anthem, which echoed for months as she continued to build her catalog.
In May 2019, Shenseea signed with Interscope Records in partnership with Jamaican producer Rvssian’s Rich Immigrants label.
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Shenseea continued her winning streak in 2019 when she collaborated with international artist Tyga for Blessed. Following the release of the single, this photo was featured in New York’s Times Square. Blessed, currently at over 50 million views on YouTube, set the tone for more collabs to come.
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In November 2019, Shenseea escalated her beef with Jada Kingdom when she referred to her as “Jada Condom” at the Red Bull Culture Clash. Kingdom retaliated by releasing a diss track called Shen-Heng. The two eventually put their differences aside, following the sudden passing of Shenseea’s mother in 2020.
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Her growing popularity and influence helped her secure sponsorships with Flow and Pepsi-Cola Jamaica. The “Trending Gyal” singer also announced via Instagram in February 2020 that her then 4-year-old son, Rajeiro is the Brand Ambassador for Babybop Kids Store. Later on in October, he was also named the Brand Ambassador of Chubby.
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She continued her crossover journey when she teamed up with Rvssian for the single ‘IDKW’ in January 2020. The single also featured two American rappers Swae Lee and Young Thug.
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During the pandemic, Shenseea stayed busy, as she collaborated with Tarrus Riley on Lighter, which became the center of a viral challenge and has accumulated over 50 million views on YouTube.
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In January 2021, Shenseea became the most followed living Jamaican artist on Instagram and is currently at 4.5 million fans on the platform. With such a large audience, she picked up more brand deals with PrettyLittleThing, Carib Beer and more.
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Also in January, Shenseea and the undisputed Queen Of Dancehall Spice unfollowed each other on the platform, kick-starting rumors of tension between the two stars.
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In March 2021, Shenseea was named BET’s Amplified Artist of the Month, which the television network described as their “stamp of approval on the next big thing in music”.
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In July of this year, Shenseea announced on Instagram that she had signed with Wassim “Sal” Slaiby, who also manages The Weekend and Doja Cat. “Sal” is a Canadian music executive whose company manages an impressive catalogue of other international artists such as Ty Dolla $ign, Bryson Tiller, Bebe Rexha, Nav and French Montana.
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In July 2021, Shenseea released the first single from her debut album, titled Run Run, but not without some controversy for its alleged satanic imagery. She then followed up with Be Good.
Also in July, she arrived in a jerk chicken pan on stage at Rolling Loud in Florida. “Thank you for having me, the first Artiste from Jamaica to ever to get booked for this platform and I took the whole team with me along with some greats @dingdongravers @tarrusrileyja to Share the history and experience with I am grateful! This is only the beginning of the journey to achieve my ultimate goal!” she wrote on Instagram following the performance.
In August, the singer was seen alongside Kanye West at his Donda album listening event in Chicago. She later gained her first two Billboard Hot 100 entries with her features on the album: Pure Souls which also recruited rapper Roddy Rich, and Ok Ok Pt. 2.
Shenseea was the first female Jamaican Dancehall artist to hit the Hot 100 in 17 years, following Miss Thing’s entry with Beenie Man for Dude in 2004.
In her post today, fans and fellow celebrities alike excitedly flooded the comments section to wish her a happy birthday including Cardi B, Rubi Rose, Stefflon Don, Nailah Blackman, Stalk Ashley, Tyga, Popcaan, Ce’Cile, Busta Rhymes and more.
In return, she shared a snippet of unreleased music in a subsequent video post.
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