Shenseea isn't an artist who's easy to pin down, and that's just the way she likes it.
The 24-year-old Jamaican-born Dancehall singer has already recorded tracks with Christina Aguilera, Sean Paul and Tyga, and she's proud to have developed her own unique sound in the process.
"My music is definitely energetic," she tells E! News in an exclusive interview for our "Ones to Watch" series celebrating Black History Month. "It speaks truth because I normally try to write about what I'm going through or somebody else is going through. Because I like to write music that people can relate to. When they hear it, they feel like I'm talking to them."
Shenseea, whose skills as a lyricist and upbeat demeanor have earned her 3.7 million Instagram followers, signed with Interscope Records in 2019 and says she "definitely" hopes to release her debut album later this year. Although she initially dreamed of following in the footsteps of fellow Caribbean native Rihanna, Shenseea soon found more joy in going about things her own way.
"I would often say as a child, 'Hey, I want to be the next Rihanna' or 'I feel like I'm gonna be the next Rihanna,'" the performer admits. "But as time went by, I said to myself, I don't want to be the next Rihanna. I want to be the best version of myself. Rihanna is an inspiration, she's one of my favorite artists. But when you love yourself and you accept yourself, you can't be nobody else."
Shenseea finds inspiration in a wide array of genres, from hip-hop to reggae to rock, and she plans to always keep fans guessing.
"I want to be that woman where, you can't put me in a box," she adds. "Be that person that, you're just everything. You do anything that you want to do. I want that to be my legacy."
Check out her full interview in the above video.