It’s Shenseea’s 24th birthday, and we’re celebrating with a special playlist of some fire singles by the dancehall star.
Firstly, we will give you a bit of background on Shenseea’s rise in dancehall since her emergence in the genre in 2016 with “Loodi.” The Jamaican music superstar has had an extraordinary year despite the global COVID-19 pandemic, from her international collabs and Billboard chart appearance to topping reggae charts and being signed by a major label. Once dubbed the ‘fastest-rising dancehall artiste,’ Shenseea’s musical career has gone from 0 to 100 real quick, and she is not even close to the anchor leg yet. Romeich Major also deserves a lot of credit for taking a chance with Shenseea and mentoring her into a polish superstar.
While she celebrated some major wins over the past year, the dancehall singjay has suffered even more major losses. In June 2020, Shenseea lost her beloved mother, who was her rock and biggest fan. Her loyal fans and members of the dancehall community mourned this great loss with her and rallied to support her throughout her grief. A slew of dancehall artists also shared their condolences publicly and attended the funeral service to offer even more support.
With millions of fans locally and around the world offering a shoulder to cry on, the leader of the ShenYeng eventually tidied her crown atop her head, and before we knew it, she was back in the spotlight, more confident and more fierce than she ever was. First, with her virtual Sumfest performance, which was a cathartic moment in her re-emergence, and then with some hot singles that quickly racked up millions of views upon release like a bad habit.
To date, Shenseea boasts features and collaborations with the likes of Swae Lee, Young Thug, Christina Aguillera, Tyga, Vybz Kartel, and more. As her stardom continues to be fueled by the constant success of her songs, we have compiled a list of essential tracks that sum up her journey thus far. In honor of the dancehall star’s 24th birthday, here are 5 songs in no specific order that you should be listening to in celebration of her birthday.
1. Loodi
Shenseea’s breakout hit arrived in the fall of 2016. While it wasn’t her first official single, it was definitely this, her first Vybz Kartel collaboration that really introduced her to the world. The track’s tantalizing kicks and alluring flows made it an irresistible body-bumping, hip-rolling command in the dancehall arena. A viral music video soon followed its release in November 2016, which has since accumulated over 30 million views on YouTube. That year, Shenseea scored big at the Youth View Awards, taking home the trophy for Break Out Celebrity of 2016, Collaboration of The Year, and more. After the success of this Vybz Kartel-assisted hit, Shenseea was well on her way to becoming one of the most acclaimed young artists in dancehall music if she managed to follow up with more hit songs, and that she did.
2. Blessed
This banger, released in May 2019, marked Shenseea’s first crossover hit and one of the fastest-rising singles of her career. Tapping rapper Tyga for the collaboration, the dancehall singer found a winning hook that was catchy and infectious, which helped the song went viral on social media and the airwaves. “Blessed,” which was curated by international Jamaican music producer Rvssian, who helps manage Shenseea, is still currently leading the list of the dancehall artiste’s top songs on Apple Music and is still widely regarded as her most successful release yet. The popular music video has accumulated over 45 million views to date while the track peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Reggae Digital Song Sales chart. “Blessed” was also Shenseea’s major-label debut single as it was her first release when it was announced that she had been signed to American record label Interscope Records – a move that put her on a roster among acts like Eminem, Selena Gomez, and Billie Eilish.
3. Trick’a Treat
One of the dancehall artiste’s most popular solo singles was released in November 2019 ahead of the visuals that arrived earlier this year in February. “Trick’a Treat” is a fun, quick, but effective track that showcases Shenseea’s style and affinity for the finer things. The selection is composed of five short and sweet 4-bar verses and an engineered bridge. If the authentic dancehall instrumental brimmed with fire hazard potential, the addition of the ShenYeng Boss’s jaunty vocals and sassy lyrics definitely ignited the flame. Thanks to its versatile flows and frequently recurring catchy hook, “Trick’a Treat” is undoubtedly one of the most well-received tracks of the dancehall star’s catalog. The Chimney Records production was among a string of singles she released late last year like “Trending Gyal,” which reminded everyone that Shenseea could find a hit all on her own. Frankly, “a dem ting ya mi love,” – said some ShenYengs nodding in congruence probably.
4. Lighter
Shenseea teamed up with Tarrus Riley for this latest banger that has solidified her place as one of dancehall’s biggest stars today. In less than a month, the track’s official music video has clocked 12 million views on YouTube. The falsetto-riddled hook has been permeating social media’s dancehall faction like an epidemic – exacerbated by the viral ‘#LighterChallenge’, of course. As the lead single off Riley’s upcoming album, “Lighter” is hands down Shenseea’s most successful hit as a featured artist. The title bowed in the top 5 on Apple Music charts in several countries across the Caribbean and Central America, including Belize, Barbados, Grenada, Dominica, Cayman Islands, and more. It also peaked at No. 1 on the Reggae iTunes chart in Jamaica and France. Like everything Rvssian touches, this song is as flammable as its namesake and has the potential to emerge on the Billboard charts as a crossover mega-hit.
5. ShenYeng Anthem
We cannot celebrate Chinsea Lee, affectionately known as Shenseea, without acknowledging her own anthem. The release of “ShenYeng Anthem” was a defining moment in the artist’s career as it not only separated her from her dancehall counterparts, but it encompassed a principle that her new fanbase (dubbed ‘ShenYengs’) seemed to thoroughly enjoy. To this day, the title is still a part of Shenseea’s performance set lists and stirs up an intoxicating response from fans every time. As Billboard noted in an article last year, “ShenYeng Anthem,” which was released in 2018, had amassed over 6.1 million streams in the United States by mid-2019. The official audio was released on YouTube first and has accumulated over 9 million views, while the music video that premiered last fall has since garnered over 8 million views. Only a short few dancehall artists can brag about a special relationship with their fandom, and even fewer can say they’ve penned an anthem in commemoration of it. This one was for the fans, and it may be the most immortal of them all.
With this 5-song playlist, you get a different taste of Shenseea’s versatility with each track. As she celebrates her 24th birthday, we hope she would agree that the compilation is a telling extract of who she is as an artist. While it doesn’t begin to scratch the surface of her ever-growing discography, these songs are memorable for what they stand for.
Happy birthday Shenseea!
