Shantel May flew by VIBE’s doorstep like a sweet hummingbird, and we’ve been enamored by her ever since. The Caribbean songstress‘s debut album, Triggered But Here, is an all-too relatable LP that has remained in rotation since its release.
The Toronto-bred phenom visited our New York offices for a very special V Sessions performance, where she treated us to two songs from the LP, “Love It Here” and “The Hard Way.” She put us up on game and opened up about how she manages when triggers arise in her life.
“I find myself in a lot of situations— whether it be romantic or with family, or whoever— where I’m pretty much triggered all the time, but I don’t go anywhere. I hold it down. I’m always around. I’m always trying to figure it out with people. And I feel like my whole life has just been a ‘Triggered, But Here’ moment,” Shantel explained.
May credited her tough skin to her Caribbean roots. “Just our mannerisms, the way we’re brought up— it’s just a certain way that we move. I feel like it really preps us for the world. I feel like that has helped me in all my life, but especially in the music industry as well,” Shantel expressed.
Triggered But Here was influenced by ’90s Hip-Hop/R&B, and for her, it’s a true debut.
Noting, “This is my baby. I’ve been doing music forever. I feel like this is my real shot at really putting out my stuff. It’s been a long time coming […] I feel like with this project, I’m getting the chance to do everything that I wanted to do; I’ve really given myself more in this project and you’re going to really get a sense of who Shantel is.”
From her pre-show warmup and her first move after someone slides into her DMs to top five love songs and which fellow Canadian heavyhitters are on her playlist, check out our full sit-down with Shantel May above.
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