Shenseea flattered by Rihanna comparisons, but just wants to be herself
Over the years, Shenseea’s style, drive and sound has earned her comparisons to Bajan superstar Rihanna. Those comparisons were fueled even more with her latest releases. But Shenseea has made it explicitly clear that while she is flattered by the talks of her becoming the Caribbean’s next Rihanna, she just wants to be herself.
In an interview posted to MTV’s official Twitter page on the weekend, the artiste addressed the constant juxtaposition between herself and Barbados’ newest national hero. Dubbing Rihanna her ‘Caribbean Queen’, the Trending Gyal artiste said she believes she has something different to bring to the music industry.
READ: Is Shenseea the next Caribbean Rihanna?
“I feel like up until now, people are saying I should be the next Rihanna or they see me as the next Rihanna. I love Rihanna. Rihanna is my Queen, my Caribbean Queen, but I feel like she has traits that I don’t have and I have traits that she don’t have,” she said.
“She has inspired me but I feel like I wanna be the best version of myself because I am special in my own way. And I tell people don’t be the next Shenseea. You can be so much more special in your own way.”
This is not the first time the dancehall princess has addressed the RiRi comparisons. In an interview on the Angie Martinez Show in January, Shenseea said she feels no pressure trying to fill Rihanna’s shoes as a fellow Caribbean artiste because she is solely focused on strengthening her craft.
“If people are comparing me to her (Rihanna), I don’t take that offensive. Overall, I’m still gonna be me. Nothing is pressuring me, I am being myself regardless. So if me being myself makes you compare me to Rihanna, what should I say about that?” she questioned.
She also indicated that if Rihanna also hears the comparisons swirling around, she too should take no offense.
“I have been watching her ever since I was a kid and I don’t think if she hears that she should be offended either because she is one of my biggest inspirations.”
She went on to list Whitney Houston, Nicki Minaj, Michael Jackson and Vybz Kartel as her main influences in music.
Over the last few months, Shenseea has been featured on Kanye West’s Grammy-nominated album ‘Donda’, secured collabs with international stars Megan Thee Stallion and Yo Gotti and has also hit the Billboard Hot 100 Bubbling Under chart.
She is set to release her debut album ‘Alpha’ on March 23.
