Although Shenseea has been steadily rising as a prominent pop and dancehall artist for the past few years, the end of 2021 and beginning of 2022 have been monumental for her. After Kanye West recruited her for two features on his August 2021 Donda album, Shenseea felt poised to takeover in the new year.
For the Jamaican singer, this run begins with “Lick,” her brand new single and sexual music video with Megan Thee Stallion which released on Friday (Jan. 21). On Saturday (Jan. 22), she started an Instagram Live to discuss how good she feels about how well the song has been received: “We made the news… I’m about to go pray… I was so happy, we’ve been trending for 25 hours. 2.1 million, almost 2.2 million and counting on YouTube. The streams are going crazy, I need y’all to continue streaming… I was working for two weeks prior to this release, and my team, I just want to thank y’all because y’all know how long I’ve waited just to get on these charts and I’m about to dominate.”
She continued by saying this song is a springboard for her coming into her upcoming album Alpha, named for her strong personality: “That’s why this moment is so big for me because it’s the start of what I’m going to do. I’m telling you. For the album that’s coming, that album is for everybody. I named the album ‘ALPHA’ because it resonates with my personality. I’ve always felt like the head of my household, and I run things, not things running me. Me leading, not me following people. People follow me. I lead. I am a leader. It means strength for me…To be an alpha is to be strong, to lead, to be dominant, and I’ve been dominating.”
Shenseea explained that Alpha will see her go beyond the dancehall genre she has occupied at the start of her career: “I told myself, ‘I’m going to do dancehall for five years.’ I’ve given myself to dancehall, I’ve given y’all hits upon hits upon hits upon hits for five years. I’m not leaving dancehall because I could never, but I have such a bigger dream for myself, ever since I was a child. I’m going to achieve it because, at the end of the day, it is my life. It is what I want and what I have always dreamt of.”
Check out the clips of Shenseea’s IG Live below.