Shenseea Has 'No Expectations' for “Never Gets Late Here”, but She Does Have 'One Wish': 'Get a Grammy' (Exclusive)

The international pop star opens up to PEOPLE about her new album ‘Never Gets Late Here’ and aiming for solo Grammys success with her sophomore effort

• Shenseea's new 14-track album, Never Gets Late Here, is out now

• The rapper/singer's sophomore album includes features from Anitta, Coi Leray and Wizkid

• The Jamaican sensation discusses her new LP and working towards solo Grammy success

Shenseea knew she was destined to make her mark on the music world ever since she was a little girl.

“That's when I heard voices in my head like, ‘Oh, you're going to be a superstar. You're going to be an artist,'" the Jamaican sensation, born Chinsea Lee, tells PEOPLE of discovering her life’s purpose.

After years of delivering hit after undeniable hit (“Loodi,” “ShenYeng Anthem” and “Blessed,” to name a few) and reaching No. 2 on the Billboard reggae albums chart with her 2022 debut album, Alpha — making her the first Jamaican artist to achieve the feat in 17 years — it’s safe to say Shenseea has fulfilled her childhood dream of being a well-known star. But she knows her work is far from over.

Seeing as though the 27-year-old — who’s worked with A-list stars like Kanye West, Megan Thee Stallion, Offset and Sean Paul — still has pie-in-the-sky goals of “filling out stadiums” and getting recognized by the Recording Academy as a solo act, she’s steadily climbing her way toward global pop stardom with her brand-new album, Never Gets Late Here.

The 14-track project, executive produced by London on da Track, comfortably leans on the summery dancehall-pop melodies Shenseea has made her signature with her singing-rapping style. Meanwhile, she’s also experimenting more with a soundscape of Latin trap and heavy Afrobeats.

A big supporter of the latter sonic lane and African artists, the genre-bender says she had no problem incorporating those elements on her sophomore LP “because it's still a bit authentic, and it still gives Black culture.”

Related: Shenseea Doubles Down on Why She Thinks Bob Marley Is Bigger Than Michael Jackson: 'Facts Are Facts' (Exclusive)

On her new album, Shenseea employs big-name features from artists like Anitta, Coi Leray and Wizkid, as well as assistance from Masicka and a bevy of producers like London, Supa Dups and Jamaican natives Rvssian and Di Genius.

According to the international pop star, the many collaborations were born out of “real relationships” she’s developed in the industry and thus became a surefire way to continue expanding her sound beyond the shores of Jamaica.

“I don't think I will ever stop because I'm just a musician,” she says.

It took well over a year for Shenseea to craft and perfect her latest labor of love, recording out of private studios in Los Angeles and Miami. She’s not picky about locations, though. “As long as I have great equipment, I can record anywhere,” the singer/rapper says of her creative process, which has matured just as much as her musical profile.

While the “Neva Neva” artist says her first album — which proved her as a laudable crossover act — was well-received among fans, she believes the making of her follow-up has since drawn mixed reactions.

“Because in the process of making this second one, I think they've witnessed me experimenting more than before, and so it was a complete riot happening,” Shenseea explains of her listeners. “But I think that it's now a calm after the storm seeing that I gave them ‘Hit & Run’” — the star’s 2024 lead single that reminded fans exactly where her loyalty lies.

“After getting [that], they're like, ‘Oh, she didn't go nowhere,” the musician adds with satisfaction.

With the reassurance of Never Gets Late Here’s rollout, Shenseea is optimistic that fans will continue to stick by her as she navigates “how best I can uplift my genre and blend it even more to make it reach wider audiences.”

Because, at the end of the day, the ambitious artist wants nothing more than to make her home country proud.

“Ever since I was young, I feel like my purpose here on Earth was to just make music, to heal the world, to make them happy, and to inspire and impact,” she shares. “It's just a feeling that I have, and I think that until I feel fulfilled in terms of how many people I've touched — up until now, I don't feel like I've touched as many as I should, and so I think that's what keeps me motivated.”

Shenseea will know she’s made it when she’s performing in front of crowds of thousands in the biggest venues around the world. Or when “people can look up and be like, ‘Oh, Shenseea has been a pioneer for the country and the culture and the whole entire Caribbean.”

In the meantime, though, the “Die For You” singer is ready for people to listen to Never Gets Late Here so she can finally revel in her work, although she has “no expectations” for how the new LP will perform.

“I'm trying to stay not too excited, I'll say, because I don't know what to expect. I'm just hoping for the best,” says Shenseea. “It has just been a relief trying to get this project out there for the past year, and so the time has finally come for it to hit everyone's ears, and I'm just anxious to see the feedback, to be honest. I really want one of these songs to go further than any of my songs has ever been.”

She isn’t picky about which track, though: “I curated an album filled with hits, so whichever, I would not be mad.”

“I don't have any expectations to say this is going to be the one,” the “Flava” artist adds of the “timeless” songs she recorded. “I just try to make the best music that I could to curate on this album because, as the title says, Never Gets Late Here.”

Shenseea may be keeping an open mind about her next wave of success, wherever it comes from. However, she’s hell-bent on making sure major accolades come her way.

“One wish is to definitely get a Grammy,” she proclaims.

“Even if it's just nominated,” the Caribbean native adds with a smile in her tone. “I always said that I want to win a reggae Grammy first before I win any other Grammy because it's where I'm from. I don't want to win just for myself, I want to win it for my country, I want to win it for my family, my friends, the people who grew up with me, my team.”

As she keeps her eyes on the prize, Shenseea hopes her core audience of fans can “be more open-minded with the art that I'm putting out and be more appreciative.”

“I feel like we can do so much more standing together,” she notes. “We don't have to do strictly dancehall and reggae music just because we come from Jamaica. There's so many talented people in Jamaica who think that they have to be trapped doing a certain type of genre when that's not the case. We have artists in Jamaica who would die to do some R&B because they're lovers of R&B. So I hope that this album opens people's eyes to just branch out and do the art that speaks the most truth for them.”

As for streams and Billboard success, the Jamaican star isn’t getting “too caught up in the stats.” That never mattered more than her artistry, anyway. She’s more concerned with reaching the folks who support her creative vision all the way.

“For me, the streets and in real life, that's my charts. When everybody's singing my song, that makes me feel like number one.”

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