Shenseea Earns Her First Gold Certification In The US
Kanye West‘s Pure Souls, which featured guest vocals from rapper Roddy Rich and Jamaican singer Shenseea, is now certified Gold in the United States, almost two years after its release.
According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Pure Souls was certified Gold on Tuesday (August 15) after it reached the sales and streaming equivalent of 500,000 units sold in the US.
For Shenseea, this marks a significant milestone in her career, as it is her first song to achieve Gold status in the US. In Pure Souls, she lends her distinctive voice to the final verse and outro, adding haunting melodies and vocal runs that elevate the track.
Released on August 29, 2021, Pure Souls was one of two songs on West’s Donda album that feature Shenseea, the other being OK OK Pt. 2, which also included a guest appearance by Rooga. Both tracks have enjoyed chart success, with OK OK Pt. 2 and Pure Souls peaking at No. 12 and 52 on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively.
Donda, which was nominated for a Grammy Award for Album Of The Year at the 64th Annual Awards, has been a commercial and critical success.
Ye’s decision to include Shenseea on the album reportedly came after watching her Hot 97 “Crocodile Teeth” freestyle with Funkmaster Flex, which was uploaded in July 2021.
However, Shenseea explained that her inclusion in the album was far from guaranteed. In an interview with L.A. Leakers’ Justin Credible and DJ Sourmilk, she admitted that she almost didn’t make the cut.
She recalled watching other artists express disappointment at being left off the album: “I was there watching people like ‘yow, he didn’t even put me on the album’ and I was like, ‘trust me, I almost didn’t make the album either.’”
Shenseea added that she only discovered that both OK OK Pt. 2 and Pure Souls had made the final cut when Donda was released on August 29, 2021. “I love it because it’s so unpredictable but I don’t like it because I don’t even know,” she said. “And then I ended up on two? I never saw that coming at all.”
During a Twitter Q&A earlier this year, the 26-year-old said that she hoped to collaborate with the Ni**as In Paris rapper again soon.
“I love him, such a mastermind and inspiration,” she tweeted. “Yes, we’ll do something again, God’s willing,” she continued.
In addition to her success in the US, Shenseea has also achieved Gold certification in Canada for her 2019 track Blessed, which surpassed 40,000 units sold in the country in April 2022.