Dancehall

Shenseea Bridging The Gap Between Old and Modern Dancehall

"I wanted to bring back a nostalgic feeling with the old school dancehall mix it with modern sound"

Shenseea
Shenseea

Shenseaa says she wants to continue to push her music as a bridge that will connect what fans know and love as “old dancehall” to her new music.

The artist launched out into mainstream American music last year with the release of her debut album, Alpha, but she has not managed to clinch a hit song as yet despite her valiant efforts.

Shenseea is a hard worker, and it’s obvious that she is testing the market to see what is going to launch her career as a rocket. Her song “Lick” with Megan Thee Stallion drew heavy backlash for promoting oral sex, and it also might have caused a dent in her pockets as she settled a lawsuit out of court over copyright infringement allegations by an original composer.

Shenseea recently released her song “Curious,” but there have been mixed reviews as some fans enjoy the dancehall beat, but others have rebuffed the lyrics, which speak to her experimenting with her “freaky” women.

Still, in a new interview with Billboard, Shenseea said her music is a “modern sound” spin on old-school dancehall, which she thinks worked for her fans.

“I wanted to bring back a nostalgic feeling with the old school dancehall mix it with modern sound and that I did. It worked. A lot of people who know about the culture was like, ‘Yow we haven’t heard this sound in a long time’, and that’s exactly what we were aiming for. I want to bridge that gap between dancehall where it was and now,” she said.

Shenseea
Shenseea

Last year, Shenseea pushed back at disappointed fans who pointed out that her debut album did not hit because it wasn’t a dancehall album. Many felt that she was not a pop artist and couldn’t compete with the immense talent at the top. However, Shenseea had told fans that she had promised she would spend some time in dancehall music and then move on, and that’s what she was doing, take it or leave it.

The artist says she will continue to push dancehall as the foundation of her music.

“I wanna bring the kick of the beat and the bass. When you hear that kick, it makes you move and that’s what I’m infusing with my music now when I’m mixing it with like Pop and any other genre. But I want the kick and the bass to remain the same like you will feel that dancehall gritty sound,” she said.

Meanwhile, Shensee was asked about how she felt having other artists and fans backing her journey and shared its extra motivation.

“I loved the fact that they just believed in me. It just gave me motivation to just keep going. I believe in myself but seeing other people believe in me, other people who are ahead of the game, it feels amazing,” she said.

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