Days out from releasing her upcoming sophomore studio album, Never Gets Late, dancehall princess Shenseea is taking a look back at the many collaborations under her belt. Among them is the Roddy Richh-assisted “Pure Souls” by Kanye West, which she says really helped shift her career.
“One of the moments I knew things changed was when I did the collaboration with Kanye,” Shenseea tells Billboard. “I felt like that opened a whole different type of doors — fashion, hip-hop, different artists just reaching out. I think that Kanye is cool, as much as how he’s artistic, he’s a cool person to look at. Always entertaining. I feel like me being associated with him, it has led me to a lot of open doors.”
Shenseea’s new album has features from Coi Leray, Wizkid and Anitta, while her debut, Alpha, saw appearances from 21 Savage, Megan Thee Stallion, Offset, Beenie Man, Tyga and Sean Paul — and those are only some of her collaborations over the years.
Shenseea says working with other artists “helps me to get over my nerves” and helps build her confidence as a musician.
“I feel like artists [are] easily intimidated by others’ success. Not to be badminded, not like that vibe, more of like, ‘Whoa, this is the pressure to have when somebody who’s this successful in the industry [is here.] What do I bring to the table?’” she says.
“You will never know until you do it,” she continues. “Doing it over time and taking on the challenge over and over and just trying to be myself, it helps that there’s nothing I can’t take on.”
Never Gets Late, featuring lead single “Hit & Run,” is due out May 24.
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