Shay

Shay aka the female artist who knew how to make her mark in Rap.

After 3 years of absence, Shay returns with her second album Antidote and we are more than happy with her return.

From her real name Vanessa Lesnicki, this Belgian artist of Polish and Congolese origin has established herself in Rap as a black woman and we must say that her talent is impressive. Being the granddaughter of the Congolese artist and politician Tabu Ley Rochereau and niece of rapper Youssapha, Shay grew up in the music world. Indeed, it was her grandfather who called her Shay – which means “The one who brings light” in Yanzi dialect.

Revealed to the general public after a collaboration with Booba in 2011, this young Belgian female rapper released her first album Jolie Garce in 2016 which will be certified gold disc. Known for her punchlines and assurance, Antidote reveals a real vulnerability and feeling of loneliness that had never been addressed before as it was the case in ‘BXL’ or ‘Notif’. Sold for more than 50,000 time and certified gold single, the song 'Liquide' featuring rapper Niska presents itself as the flagship song of the album.

Feminist and engaged, she refuses the classic role attributed to women and denounces the clichés received via protest lyrics. In the tune ‘Prends Ton Time’ she denounces the sexist comments she has often been the victim of: “Why do you rap? It's not for women. Why do you stay late at night? Where is your family?” She alredy used to talk about this as in 2017 the track 'PMW': “Let us live the life we want.”

Shay literally 'breaks' the image that people can have about her and starts all over again as she suggested it when she broke a representative portrait of herself in the video clip ‘Jolie’. Strong and independent, Shay doesn’t hesitate to shake the codes and keeps exposing her inner self even more to her audience through this new album. We can say that 2019 was a good year for Shay, and 2020 might be very hectic for this determined artist.

Instagram: Shayizi

© Gloria Dominiak