There’s no doubt that Shenseea is one of

the defining voices of dancehall for this generation and the artiste is

beginning to solidify that claim internationally.

The ‘Sheng Yeng boss’ was featured by E

News in its Ones To Watch serieswhich celebrates black voices during Black History Month.

The near-five minute video – which includes tidbits about the artiste and intersperses clips from her singles such as Blessed, Lighter and Love I Got For You – shows Shenseea talking about her rise in dancehall, her upcoming album, Rihanna being an “inspiration” to her art and addresses the double standards faced by women looking to break through.

“I personally refer to myself as a

chameleon since sometimes I can hear people and other artistes and easily adopt

their sounds when I figure it out, like different, different tones,” Shenseea

told E News.

From being inspired by Rihanna to how her son influences her music, — E! News (@enews)

From being inspired by Rihanna to how her son influences her music, — E! News (@enews) @SHENYENG explains what got her where she is in the industry. pic.twitter.com/rN6fdEbineFebruary 19, 2021

“My music definitely is energetic, that’s

for one. It speaks truth, because I normally try to write off what I’m going

through or somebody else is going through because I like to write music that people

can relate to. When they hear it they feel like I’m talking to them. I just do

it from the heart, honestly.”

She also noted that female artistes are often

expected to do more than their male counterparts in performances noting, “As a

woman we are expected to do the most. A male can go on stage and he can sing

his  songs normal, jump up, buil’ a

little vibes while for women it’s like we’re expected to be like a stripper on

the stage while singing. And that is why I try to shift the focus where I

stopped trying to write the type of music that people might think I am required

to buss it down on the stage.”

The Bad

Alone artiste added, that she prays daily, and that her son is her

motivation. “Listen, God and my son, even when I’m down, I pray every single

day. I pray for everything I want, I pray for strength, and my son, yea he’s my

biggest motivation. And the fact that he’s a fan of my music is so fun … if I’m

feeling down or something, you’ll still hear him in the house beatboxing.”

As for her musical inspirations, she had this to say. “Jamaican culture is me. Listening even to hip-hop music and RnB music growing up, I find that I wanted to be this pop star like Rihanna. I would often say “I want to be the next Rihanna…I feel like I gonna be the next Rihanna” but as time went by, I said to myself, ‘I don’t want to be the next Rihanna, want to be the best version of myself.’ Rihanna is an inspiration, she’s one of my favourite artistes…”

She also left a message for those looking to make it big in the industry, without having to compromise who they are. “Once you have the talent, once you work hard, and once you bring yourself a certain way that people respect you, there’s nobody that going to come to you with some form of bull. You don’t have to do anything that you don’t want to do to get where you want to be.”

Oh, and for those asking about an album, this is the year and Shenseea promises it’s going to be “Lit!”