Vybz Kartel is making a move that nobody in the dancehall space saw coming quite like this.
The genre’s most talked-about figure has signed singer and songwriter Shenequa to his GreedyLion/Vybz Kartel Muzik label, making her the first female artist to join the roster.
Kartel did not hold back on what he expects this partnership to deliver. “Shenequa is entering a new chapter.
With the backing, visibility and creative energy, the team and I will be taking her career to another level, so stay tuned,” he said, also confirming that collaborations between the two are already in the works.
For Shenequa, the signing carries real weight beyond just the business side of things. “It’s an amazing feeling to be signed by one of the world’s greats. I’m truly grateful for the opportunity, and it’s only up from here,” she said.
She is currently out with her latest single “My Show,” which comes with a new visual built to introduce her sound and personality to a wider audience.
Her catalogue also includes “Emotionally Scarred,” and the two tracks together give a decent picture of where her artistry sits right now.
What makes Shenequa’s signing feel like more than a label announcement is the way she is framing her own ambitions.
She has been direct about wanting to shift how people think about female artists in reggae and dancehall, a space that has historically kept women at arm’s length from its highest commercial tiers.
I aim to change the perception that female Reggae/Dancehall artistes are limited to a certain level of success in the music industry.
And if there was ever any truth to that perception, we will change it. With God, all things are possible,” she said. That kind of statement, backed by one of dancehall’s most recognizable names, is going to turn heads in the industry.
Her approach to the craft itself is worth paying attention to. “Music, to me, is expressing how you feel on a beat. It’s never wrong or right. It’s an art, so just create your masterpiece and do it beautifully,” she said.
It is a philosophy that sounds simple but actually cuts against the formulaic approach that dominates a lot of commercial dancehall output right now.
She also spoke about the work ethic that shapes how she moves, tracing it back to a quote she picked up in high school: “Whatever your hands find to do, do it with all your might.”
She says she applies that principle to every song she writes or records, pushing herself to improve each time out.
The signing puts Kartel back in a conversation that goes beyond his own music. He has been steadily building GreedyLion into something with real infrastructure, and bringing in a female artist with a clear sense of direction suggests the label is thinking about longevity, not just short-term buzz.
Shenequa says she is determined to develop her sound and prove that the ceiling people have placed on women in this genre is not fixed.
With Kartel hinting at collaborations and a new chapter officially underway, the next few months are going to be telling.
