Top 5 Female Dancehall Artistes Right Now

Princess HenryJuly 17, 2023

Dancehall music is revered not only by the people of Jamaica and others in the Caribbean, but also by foreigners who fall in love with the music, lifestyle, and culture of the Jamaican people.

Female artistes tend to find it difficult to make a name for themselves in the predominantly male-dominated genre, however, women such as Spice and Shenseea have broken through the gateway of success in Dancehall and made it international after securing a large fanbase in their home country.

The following list is a ranking of female Dancehall talent from the number one (highest-ranked) through five (lowest-ranked) position.

This top five list was curated by yardhype.com and is based on the artiste’s popularity on social media and musical success.

#1 SPICE

Born Grace Hamilton, Spice first gained recognition in the early 2000s when she appeared on a staging of Sting. She has built a name for herself in the Dancehall industry and has been granted the title of Queen of Dancehall. Some of Spice’s most notable songs include Romping Shop featuring Vybz Kartel, So Mi Like It, and Tape Measure.

The mother of two released her EP, So Mi Like It, in 2014 EP, her mixtape, Captured, was released in 2018 and she went on to release two albums, 10 in 2021, and Emancipated in 2022.

The accomplished entertainer has her own label, Spice Official Entertainment under which she released her second album. She was the first female Dancehall entertainer to be nominated for Best Reggae Act at the 2016 MOBO Awards and she also went on to be nominated for Best Reggae Album at the 2022 Grammy Awards.

#2 STEFFLON DONN

Although not Jamaican-born, Stefflon Don, born Stephanie Allen, was catapulted to fame in 2017 after her collaboration with French Montana, Hurtin’ Me, peaked at number seven on the UK Singles Chart. Before then she had released her first mixtape, Real Ting, in 2016, and her second, Secure, came after in 2018.

Having family in Jamaica and a lover of the culture, Stefflon Don’s music is heavily influenced by Dancehall and she is popular with Jamaican fans. Some of her singles include Diamond Body, a collaboration with Dancehall great Mavado, Clockwork featuring Spice, and 16 Shots. In 2017, she won the Best Female award at the MOBO Awards, and in 2018, she won the Best New Artiste at the NWE (New Musical Express) and was nominated for Best International Act at the BET Awards.

#3 SHENSEEA

Chinsea Lee, better known by her stage name Shenseea, made a name for herself through collaborative efforts with big names in the musical industry like Vybz Kartel, international artiste Christina Aguilera, and Sean Paul. Some of her most noteworthy songs since her rise to fame include Blessed, Loodi, Shen Yeng Anthem, and The Side Chick Song.

Shenseea went on to win awards like Best Reggae Act at the 2021 MOBO Awards and was nominated for album of the year at the 64th Grammy Awards as a featured artiste for appearing on Kanye West’s Donda album. She featured in two songs on the album, Pure Souls and Ok Ok Pt 2. Shenseea released her debut album, Alpha, in 2022 which featured international act Megan Thee Stallion for her controversial single Lick.

#4 JADA KINGDOM

Jada Kingdom, born Jada Ashanti Murphy, rode onto the musical scene like a storm in 2017 after first building a name for herself as an Instagram Model with a small waist and thick butt and thighs. Her debut single was Love Situations and she went on to produce hit songs like GPP, One Time, Banana, Feelings remix featuring D’Yani, and Turn Me On featuring The 9ine.

Jada has three EP’s, E-Syde Queen (The Twinkle Playlist) (2020), Jungle (remixes) 2022, and New Motion (2022). Although she has not yet released a debut album her fans are highly anticipating its release as she stated earlier in the year via Twitter that she would release her first album in 2023. The album will reflect who the entertainer is as a person and is set to be entitled Twinkle.

#5 SHANEIL MUIR

As a Dancehall artiste, Shaneil Muir broke into the music business after participating as a 2016 contestant on the Jamaican talent show Magnum Kings and Queens of Dancehall and moved on to debut on the Reggae Sumfest stage. She is also known for her livestreams where she would interact with fans and share snippets of her unreleased songs and also give positive advice.

This Montego Bay native is known for her singles Crawsis featuring 450, Yamabella, Mannaz featuring Govana, and Exclusive. Although successful, Muir almost walked away from the music industry in late 2022 citing mismanagement of her finances, however, she decided to keep fighting for her career in music and even moved on to open a wig and hair care store in Montego Bay.

STALK ASHLEY as honourable mention

With a musical sound that is a blend of R&B and Dancehall, Stalk Ashley made a splash on the music scene in 2018 after participating in Jada Kingdom’s Banana challenge and has since built a sturdy career in the industry. As an artiste, Stalk Ashley has had her fair share of collaborations with names like Alkaline, Skeng, Jada Kingdom and Valiant.

She is popular for singles such as Sin Sex (her first single), Wasteman with Jada Kingdom, Young, Taliban with Skeng and more recently, Earthquake. Stalk Ashley prides herself in being different from the pack when it comes to music and personality and intends to go a lot further in her career.