Introduction
Chinsea Linda Lee (born 1 October 1996), known professionally as Shenseea (/ʃɛnˌsiːə/), is a Jamaican singer and songwriter. She is best known for her guest appearance alongside Roddy Ricch on Kanye West's 2021 song "Pure Souls," which entered the Billboard Hot 100. Through its parent album Donda, she received a Grammy Award nomination Album of the Year at the 64th Grammy Awards. She signed with Interscope Records to release her debut studio album Alpha (2022), which peaked at number two on the Top Reggae Albums chart and number three on the Heatseekers charts. Her other accolades include a NAACP Image Award and MOBO Award.
Early life and education
Shenseea was born in Jamaica to a Jamaican mother and a Korean-born father, from whom she is estranged. She graduated from Mona High School and attended Excelsior Community College (Exed) in Kingston, where she studied Entertainment Management before dropping out due to financial difficulties. She aspired to become a singer at a young age.
Career
After spending a few years as an aspiring artist, Shenseea was signed by the music label Rockstar. She gained recognition after remixing the well-known Vybz Kartel's song "Loodi" and performing on a side stage at Reggae Sumfest in 2015. In 2017, she performed on Reggae Sumfest's main stage. As her notoriety grew, she toured internationally. In 2016, she won "Young Hot and Hype Artiste" at the Youth View Awards; Break Out Celebrity of 2016, and Collaboration of The Year for her song "Loodi" with Vybz Kartel. In addition to dancehall music she has shown skills in freestyling as a rapper. She teamed up with Sean Paul for the 2017 single "Rolling" and on the leg of his 2017 European tour.
In 2018, she was featured on Christina Aguilera's album Liberation, on the song "Right Moves". Vybz Kartel and Shenseea then collaborated on the song "Secret (Remix)" in October 2018. In 2019, she signed with Interscope records and released the hip-hop/dancehall track "Blessed" featuring American artist Tyga, which accumulated over 58 million views on YouTube by April 2022. In January 2020, she collaborated with Jamaican record producer Rvssian on a single titled "IDKW" which also featured American rappers Swae Lee and Young Thug. That same year, Shenseea appeared on Masego's album Studying Abroad, and Major Lazer's Music Is the Weapon. Her collaboration with Tarrus Riley and Rvssian "Lighter" also proved to be a huge success in her native country Jamaica and the rest of the Caribbean after a singing challenge started by Shenseea went viral becoming one of her most successful singles and garnering over 90 million views on YouTube.
In 2021, Shenseea collaborated with Kanye West on his album Donda, appearing on the songs "Pure Souls" with Roddy Ricch and "Ok Ok pt 2" with Rooga. She has also appeared onstage during West's Chicago event for Donda. For her collaborations on West's album, Shenseea received an Album of the Year nomination, as a featured artist, at the 2022 64th Grammy Awards, marking her first Grammy nomination. In 2021, Shenseea also signed with Wassim "Sal" Slaiby, aka Salxo, who also manages the Weeknd and Doja Cat. She won Best Reggae Act at the 2021 MOBO Awards.
Shenseea was nominated for a MTV Music Video Award in 2022, and also presented at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards. She performed at the 22nd Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April 2023, and was also part of the Tropical Takeover Tour with Sean Paul and Myke Towers. The same year she received a NAACP Image Award for Outstanding International Song for her work on the song "Diana" by Fireboy DML Her older song "Pon Mi" blew up on the app TikTok aroumd this time too. In 2024, Shenseea had made a work on her song " Hit and Run" along with "Waistline". The former, "Hit and Run" emerged as one of Shenseea's biggest hits in her native country Jamaica.
Endorsements
Alongside her singing career, she holds multiple corporate sponsorship deals with companies such as Telecom, Firm Flow, Boom and a Pepsi-Cola JA sponsorship.
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Reggae | US Heat. | ||
| Alpha |
| 2 | 3 |
| Never Gets Late Here |
| — | — |
Singles
As lead artist
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USBub. | CAN | NZHot | UK | |||
| "Jiggle Jiggle" | 2016 | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles |
| "Reverse" | 2017 | — | — | — | — | |
| "Loodi" (with Vybz Kartel) | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Happy Juk" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Rude Gyal" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Chatterbox" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Solo" | 2018 | — | — | — | — | |
| "Body Good" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Pon Mi" (with Dunw3ll) | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Shen Yeng Anthem" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Hard Drive" (with Konshens nad Rvssian) | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Sinners Prayer" | 2019 | — | — | — | — | |
| "Replaceable" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Undo" (with Naughty Boy nad Calum Scott) | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Foreplay" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Blessed" (with Tyga) | — | — | — | — | Alpha | |
| "IDKW" (with Rvssian, Swae Lee and Young Thug) | 2020 | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles |
| "Potential Man" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Wasabi" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Sure Sure" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Bad Alone" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Run Run" | 2021 | — | — | — | — | |
| "Be Good" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Dolly" | 2022 | — | — | — | — | |
| "Lick" (with Megan Thee Stallion) | 20 | — | 26 | — | Alpha | |
| "R U That" (featuring 21 Savage) | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Deserve It" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Rain" (with Skillibeng) | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | |
| "Obsessed" (with Calvin Harris and Charlie Puth) | — | 76 | 7 | 71 | Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 2 | |
| "Curious" | 2023 | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles |
| "Talk Truth" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "My Bad" (with The Chainsmokers) | — | — | 33 | — | Summertime Friends | |
| "Waistline" | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |
| "Beama" (featuring Lola Brooke) | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Hit & Run" (featuring Masicka and Di Genius) | 2024 | — | — | — | — | Never Gets Late Here |
| "Die For You" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Neva Neva" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||
As featured artist
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Pon U Ruff" (Stony featuring Shenseea) | 2017 | Non-album singles |
| "Baddish" (Nailah Blackman featuring Shenseea) | ||
| "Rolling" (Sean Paul featuring Shenseea) | ||
| "Parking Spot" (Cadenza featuring Shenseea and Yxng Bane) | ||
| "Bridgets & Desert" (Tommy Lee Sparta featuring Shenseea) | ||
| "Belong with Me" (Gold Up featuring Shenseea) | 2018 | |
| "Rude Girl Ride" (Howard D, ZJ Dymond featuring Shenseea) | ||
| "Right Moves" (Christina Aguilera featuring Shenseea, Keida) | ||
| "We Ready (Champion Girl)" (Nailah Blackman featuring Shenseea) | ||
| "Clout Chaser" (Jin Gates featuring Shenseea) | 2019 | |
| "Island Ting" (TheFreshMen featuring Shenseea) | ||
| "Silver Tongue Devil" (Masego featuring Shenseea) | 2020 | Studying Abroad |
| "Lighter" (Tarrus Riley featuring Shenseea, Rvssian) | Non-album single | |
| "No Limit" (Moyann featuring Shenseea) | 2021 | Sun Roof Riddim |
| "Light My Fire" (Sean Paul featuring Gwen Stefani and Shenseea) | 2022 | Scorcha |
| "Honey Boy" (with Purple Disco Machine, Benjamin Ingrosso featuring Nile Rodgers and Shenseea) | 2024 | Non-album single |
Promotional singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| SUR | |||
| "You Lie" | 2017 | — | Non-album singles |
| "Tell Me" (with jahmiel) | — | ||
| "Topic of Discussion (anonymous)" | — | ||
| "Subrosa (Come Closer)" | 2018 | — | |
| "Love I Got For U" | — | ||
| "Bum Like Ball" | — | ||
| "Temptation Overdrive" | 2019 | — | |
| "Trick'a Treat" | — | ||
| "Limited Edition" | — | ||
| "Bad Habit" | 2020 | — | |
| "Hallelujah" | 2022 | 29 | |
| "Sold Out" | 2023 | — | |
| "Dolla" | 2024 | — | Never Gets Late Here |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Series/album | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding International Song | "Diana" with Fireboy DML | Nominated | |
| 2022 | Grammy Award | Album of the Year | Donda | Nominated | |
| 2022 | MOBO Award | Best Caribbean Music Act | Nominated | ||
| 2022 | MTV Video Music Award | Push Performance of The Year | "R U That" | Nominated | |
| 2021 | MOBO Award | Best Reggae Act | Won | ||
| 2020 | MOBO Award | Best International Act | Nominated |
Personal life
Shenseea has a son and lives in both Jamaica and the United States.