Highlighting her signature dancehall-pop style and flow on her sophomore album, Never Gets Late Here, Chinsea Linda Lee confidently places herself as a global superstar. This highly anticipated album offers a vibrant mix of genres that strengthen Shenseea’s distinctive sound.  She brings us pop, R&B, reggae, Latin trap, Afrobeats along with collaborations from artists like Anitta, Coi Leray, Masicka and Wizkid and producers London, Supa Dups, Di Genius and Rvssian, but she still holds true with her style and her wonderful mix of toasting with her beautiful singing voice. She recently commented, “This album was curated with timeless records that appeal to many cultures. Still maintaining my Jamaican authenticity, I infused my affinity for other genres such as pop and R&B. My fans will find summer anthems and songs to bring them motivation, joy and inspiration. I’m excited to share this with the world!”

She starts off this journey with “Face Lift (Intro)” featuring her son Rajeiro with some wise words for his mother, “Don’t worry mom, just keep going OK! Just focus on the next step ahead of you, not the whole staircase.” Her powerful vocals on this innovative dancehall ballad track hit so hard, you know this will be a wonderful journey she takes us on. The previously released collaboration with Masicka and Di Genius “Hit and Run” is next up. When she released this chart-topping hit, it gave a good feel for what she would be presenting to us with this new album.  While this is a great dancehall song which showcases her quickfire Patois, to show how great this album is, it is not one of the best songs on the album. The third song is “Tap Out,” created by Chimney Records, it is a rhythmic dancehall tune that will fill the dance floor. This is typical Shenseea style, flow and groove. “Neva Neva” is up next, she channels a revolutionary essence and spirited energy mixing her toasting with a sweet chorus mixing dancehall and pop.  Love this song. “Die For You,” another one of my favorites, also previous released, shows off her lyrical expertise, delivering bold, impressive lines with ease. A great beat and rhythm.

We flow to “Keep A Place,” a song with some beautiful singing and a great R&B groove. Her lyrics flow right along with the baseline. The song keeps this wonderful section of the album flowing. I get a nice Janelle Monáe, Koffee, Rihanna feel, but yet so much Shenseea’s style. We keep the amazing stream of the album going with “Dolla.”  Such a great flow with this song, and more memorable and bold lyrics. “Shen Yeng money, yeah/Better than S-E-X/Dollar bill, yeah/That better than S-E-X/My AMEX/Is better than S-E-X/And mi money never left/That better than S-E-X.”  She hits us with a love song, “Loyalty” where she maintains her self-assured persona, “My man is all I can ask for/If mi a yam head, him a di farmer/But mi see myself as/Michelle to Obama/'Cause I'm a loyal patna.” “Flava” featuring Coi Leray is next, such a vibrant and energetic spirt, I love Coi’s flow, the two of them work so well together on this track. A great R&B/funk groove going on in this tune. She dropped the official video recently, shot in Kingston, Jamaica during carnival (see below). A really fun video for a really fun song.

“Nana-nana, nana-nana/Nana-nana, nana-na/Nana-nana, nana-na” she hits us with another amazing song, “NaNa.” More of that rapid Patois, great flow and lyrics flying through this song changing up cadence and movement. Shenseea and Anitta brings us a radiant, energetic Latin trap song with “Red Flag.” She just keeps surprising on this album with her versatility and technique. Anitta, the Brazilian artist, sounds wonderful on this track, going back and forth with Shenseea. “Stars” is up next, while not one of my favorites on this album, it does showcase her brilliant vocals.  This song has the potential to become the summer anthem here in the US. “Heaven On Earth” is a slower R&B groove, she takes us through her cheating relationship, standing up to her man. “You say you want an angel, baby/If you want it, give me my heaven on earth (Gimme heaven on earth)/You say you wanna see me spread my wings, fly, fly/Where's my heaven on earth? (Ooh, yeah).” She finishes off this fantastic journey with “Work Me Out” featuring Wizkid. I love this searing duet that masterfully blends dancehall-pop and Afrobeats. Very powerful performance between the two of them, can’t help but groove to this.

Shenseea’s ability for creating ageless singles and albums that appeal to a very large audience is incredible, while still being able to stay true to her Jamaican roots. She continues to push the boundaries of her music while continuing to grow as an artist, with her compelling merging of genres to help grow her fanbase. The path of her musical direction, starting with her signature toasting and singing style and dancehall-pop melodies, and experimentation and growth of her music has place Shenseea on a path to international stardom. While she is cementing herself as the possible Queen of Dancehall in Jamaica, she clearly has he sights set much higher. This is a fantastic album and a major steppingstone in her career.

One Love - Todd