Step Into a World of Dark R&B Vibes With ShaniqueJay

Emerging artist ShaniqueJay is stepping from the Toronto music scene as a singer, rapper, and songwriter.

She began releasing music in 2019 but has been exercising her penmanship for the past 10 years. Finding her passion for music at a young age, ShaniqueJay remembers her dad buying her first CD player back when she was in grade 4. Popping a disc into the CD player, she was surrounded by a medley of music found on compact discs and began playing them one by one. At that moment, ShaniqueJay knew music was something she was destined to be part of.

In her most recent piano forward ballad “Sometimes,” the brilliant talents of ShaniqueJay are on full display. She carries a burning passion in her sultry timbres as she navigates us through her extensive vocal range that dips into a place of conviction.

Each word that leaves ShaniqueJay is performed with the tenacity to provoke thought and strike up a miscellany of emotion within her fan base. The mid-tempo instrumentation of “Sometimes,” plays into a minimalistic route as the musical components that are illuminated from this piece has the purpose of acting as a fortified foundation for ShaniqueJay to cascade her impactful croons upon.

The dark R&B vibrations fit the soundscape portrayed through lyrical motifs such as, ‘it’s different when you wanna make the time switch, back to when we’re happy living life and living lavishly.’ You hear the emotion poured into the grippingly raw narrative flashing before your eyes. Evoking images that fill the grand scheme of a back and forth relationship known to cast shadows on ShaniqueJay’s psyche, as part of her audience we feel uprooted to the environment she is speaking from.

Immersing ourselves in the heartrending melodies of ShaniqueJay, we’ll happily place “Sometimes” on repeat in order to get another dose of her warming charisma.

Congratulations on the release of “Sometimes.” We love the way you paint images with your lyrics. Was there a specific moment or story that inspired the theme behind this track? A few years ago, I was in a really rough time in my life and I was also in a really rough and difficult relationship. The relationship was really unbalanced and unhealthy, but I was always finding new ways to make it work. When you love someone, you try to forget about the hurt so bad because you just want everything perfect with this person. But sometimes the hurt is so painful to the point where you got to acknowledge the hurt, realize you deserve better and from there, move on. Could you please share a glimpse of the creative process you delved into when bringing “Sometimes” to life? When I first heard the beat for Sometimes, I knew I was going to write about a relationship. It took me a few days to figure out if the song was going to reflect something good or bad. As I continued listening to the beat for a few more days, I came to the conclusion that I wanted this song to be about a particular relationship I was in. I had to really go back and think about the ups and downs that did happen in the relationship. It was kind of hard at first just thinking about it, but then I thought to myself, this is what music is about. Well at least for me. Music for me is expressing how I feel or felt, using different styles and genres of music. Reflecting my happiness, sadness, pain, and also frustrations. When I finished writing Sometimes and recorded it, I listened to it a few times and almost got emotional because as I was hearing the playback of the song, it kind of felt like I was feeling or experiencing the same things that had happened in the relationship. How does this single compare to other songs heard throughout your music catalog? What does it say about you as an artist? Most of the songs that I have out are like melodic rapping. This was my second r&b song, but this one was different. This felt more touching and relatable. When I play this song in my car, I get a rush of emotions to the point where I play this song over and over again about 10 times. Whenever my friends listen to the song Sometimes, they always say "yo this one is it. Shanique, this is the one that's going to blow you up. All you need is a music video and your set". R&B is my most favorite genre to this day. I can express so much more singing than I do rapping. I am currently working on a new r&b song, which is like hands down 10 times better than Sometimes. I really can't wait to release that. I also want to branch out to trying other styles in music and genres. With each artist releasing a different message in their brand and artistry, what are you hoping your audience takes away from yours? I really try to have my audience relate to my music. If it's sad, happy or whatever. I really want to connect on a different level with the people who hear and listen to my music. I want my audience to feel true love and passion for music, the same way I do. I remember when I was in middle school, the songs that came out back then really had me feeling connected to the music and the artist themselves. I want my audience to connect to my music but also be connected to me.

What's next for you? I have a lot of things planned for me in the coming future. I can't really put a time or date of them, but I know that this year there's a lot to be expected from me. When it comes to this music thing and even anything in general, I like to manifest. I literally manifested my music career, and it happened. I am also manifesting being the first female signed to Drake. Being a part of the OVO team has meant everything to me since OVO has been established in 2012. Especially since Drake and I are from the same city. I feel like Drake has opened the doors to a lot of music artists from Toronto, especially me. I really just put my time day in and day out promoting my music. Music is my life. When I first learned that I love music, was at a really young age. Probably when I was 4 years old. Music has changed my life in so many positive ways. I'm just really thankful for the love music had for me. So now, I'm giving back by making my own.

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