Shenseea – “Catalyst” review

Mandeville, Manchester, Jamaican singer/songwriter & deejay Shenseea back for a brand new extended play of material. Putting out a handful of singles since 2015 like the Vybz Kartel-assisted “Loodi” or “Run Run”, she then signed to Interscope Records prior to the pandemic & got her biggest push yet after appearing on the “Ok Ok” remix off Ye formerly known as Kanye West’s final Def Jam album DONDA. Her own debut Alpha under Interscope Records further solidified Shenyeng as dancehall’s most exciting new artist & looks to make up for the sophomore effort Never Gets Late Here’s lukewarm reception to drop Catalyst in celebration of her new contract with Columbia Records.

The 2nd & final single “Vulnerability” kicks things off with this dancehall intro seeking susceptibility whereas “Playtime” featuring Asake instrumentally embraces a more atmospheric vibe so they can sing about a situationship. “Danger” moves on from there telling this guy to push up on her enough to bring the wildness out of her prior to “Garden” singing about turning off the lights before she & her lover get down to business despite the usage of AI ruining it.

“Body Language” produced by London on da Track might be my favorite here from the beat to the lyrics cautioning things are on the verge of getting freakier while “Private” featuring Loe Shimmy sings & raps about staying up conversing online & layin’ up with each other in person. “2 Face Gyal” airs out a woman who she feels is envious towards her & the lead single “Talk to Me Nuh” featuring Vybz Kartel wraps up Catalyst reuniting with the icon who believed in her from the start.

The divisive reception Never Get Late Here got makes more sense to me now that it’s been confirmed that it was Shenseea’s last offering under Interscope, but Catalyst celebrates this new era of her career by reminding the world of her place amongst dancehall’s most dominant forces in recent memory & expanding her sound with secondary influences of R&B & Afrobeats now that her new label has granted her more freedom on the creative aspect of things.

Score: 3.5/5

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Shenseea – “Never Gets Late Here” review

This is the sophomore effort from Mandeville, Manchester, Jamaica singer/songwriter & deejay Shenseea. Putting out a handful of singles since 2015 like the Vybz Kartel-assisted “Loodi” or “Run Run”, she then signed to Interscope Records prior to the pandemic & got her biggest push yet after appearing on the “Ok Ok” remix off Ye formerly known as Kanye West’s final Def Jam album DONDA. Her own debut Alpha further solidified Shenyeng as dancehall’s most exciting new artist & had a feeling Never Gets Late Here was going to improve on the departments in which Alpha lacked.

“Face Lift” starts by signing over a cloudy trap beat from London on da Track & FNZ about continuing to keep going wherever life leads her whereas “Hit & Run” featuring Masicka goes straight dancehall explaining that you couldn’t get them to settle down. “Tap Out” brings a hypnotic groove to the table instrumentally trying to find out how long you can last with her, but then “Neva Neva” goes for a pop reggae vibe refusing to say never & not wanting to feel any pressure.

Meanwhile on “Die for You”, we have Shenyeng returning to the dancehall sound talking about dying for her lover just before “Keep a Place” brings a traditional reggae flare thanks to Supah Mario hoping her exes’ memories of her aren’t fading. “Dolla” once again turns back into bashment turf explaining that money is better than sex itself prior to “Loyalty” talking about her new man being a real O.G. atmospherically stripping down roots reggae with an increased emphasis on pure rhythm.

Coi Leray pops up for the funky “Flava” so both of them can talk spicy while “NaNa” takes the anthemic route aesthetically singing about someone waiting all his life for her & shining like the summertime every single day of the year. “Red Flag” featuring Anitta is this dancehall/Latin pop crossover explaining that men who don’t have it being a turnoff for them while “Stars” passionately encourages to leave them in the sky.

As the conclusion of Never Gets Late Here gets closer, the penultimate track “Heaven on Earth” asks where her paradise is over a warm trap instrumental produced by Cubeatz that is until “Work Me Out” featuring Wizkid officially ties up the LP mixing dancehall with afrobeats talking about only being here for 1 night only getting 1 invite to give sexercise & burn them out.

Couple years after we get a proper introduction to Shenseea, she’s celebrating summer early & following up Alpha to complete her Interscope contract making a vibrant fusion of rhythms & genres including dancehall, contemporary R&B, pop music, pop reggae & Afrobeats further demonstrating her songwriting prowess & knack for crafting infectious melodies that make Never Gets Late Here an equally solid album.

Score: 3.5/5

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Shenseea – “Alpha” review

Shenseea is a 25 year old singer/songwriter & DJ from Mandeville, Manchester, Jamaica who’s dropped a handful of singles since 2015 like the Vybz Kartel-assisted “Loodi” or “Run Run”. She then signed to Interscope Records prior to the pandemic, but got her biggest push yet after appearing on the “Ok Ok” remix off Kanye West’s final Def Jam album DONDA this past summer. So given that, it was only a matter of time until she’d strike while the iron’s hot & drop a full-length debut.

“Target” with Tyga starts off the album with a decent ballad accompanied by a blissful atmosphere talking about doing right by one another whereas “Can’t Anymore” produced by London on da Track is a much more peppier follow-up wanting to get nasty. “Deserve It” goes into a more dancehall direction fantasizing over the perfect guy leading into 21 Savage tagging along for “R U That?”, which is a fresh fusion of contemporary R&B & trap outlining what kind of relationships they want.

Meanwhile on “Lick”, we have Megan Thee Stallion coming into the picture for a more refined version of “W.A.P. (Wet Ass Pussy)” down to the Murda Beatz instrumental just before the Offset-assisted “Bouncy” reveals itself to be a playful ass-shaking anthem. “Henkel Glue” returns to dancehall turf as Shenseea goes back & forth with Bernie Man talking about how this isn’t any kind of regular love, but then “Lying If I Call It Love” is a reggae-tinged slow jam courtesy of Cool & Dre detailing not being in love with her partner (played by Sean Paul) even though the sex is great.

“Hangover” comes through with an airy trap ballad advising how much it’s gonna hurt when she breaks up with her man while “Body Count” spaciously advises her new lover not to worry about such. “Egocentric” melodically advises how much your ego can damage you fighting for money like 16-time WWE world champion, 4-time WWE tag team champion & 5-time WWE United States Champion John Cena.

The song “Shen Ex Anthem” pretty much speaks for itself over a pillowy instrumental while the penultimate track “Sun Comes Up” reveals itself to be an empowering anthem about rising up. Tyga oddly returns 1 last time for the lead single “Blessed” addressing their gratitude for where they are today blending dancehall, Afrobeats & pop rap.

For a commercial debut, I think Alpha further cements Shenseea as the most exciting new face in the dancehall scene. She stays true to her roots providing doses of contemporary R&B, dancehall, Afrobeats & trap for 40 minutes crossing paths with a handful of producers I’ve been a fan of making some magic happen together although having Tyga on both the intro & the outro of your very 1st LP is certainly a choice when he’s probably the most irrelevant artist to come out of the YMCMB camp.

Score: 3.5/5