Vanessa Lesnicki (French pronunciation: [vanɛsa leniki]; born 16 August 1990 in Brussels), known by her stage name Shay (/ʃaɪ/, SHYE; French: [ʃaj]), is a Belgian francophone rapper.[1] After a collaboration with Booba in 2011, she has released many songs, notably a hit with "XCII" on the record label 92i.[2] Her debut album Jolie Garce was released on 2 December 2016 and was certified gold.[3] The sophomore album Antidote was released on 10 May 2019. Her style is a combination of hip-hop, rap, trap, urban pop and R&B. She is signed to Capitol Music France.[4]
Early life
Shay was born in Brussels. Her father is Belgian-Polish and her mother is Congolese. She is the granddaughter of singer Tabu Ley Rochereau.[5]
Musical career
In 2014, Shay joined the 92i label of her mentor Booba and released several singles like XCII and 1200. In early summer 2016, Shay released the first single from her album, entitled PMW, which was certified as platinum. On 7 October 2016, Shay released the music video of the song Biche from her album, which was viewed more than 7 million times. Her song Cabeza was released a few weeks late, and went on to be certified gold. On 17 February 2017, Shay released the music video of her single, Thibaut Courtois, dedicated to the goalkeeper of the Belgium national team with the same name. This song was also certified gold.
In 2018, Shay posted an extract from a track entitled Notif on social networks. She also unveiled her return to the studio with producers Heezy Lee, Junior à la Prod and Le Motif on Instagram. At the same time, Shay also collaborated with Jul on the track Pim Pom, taken from the latter's album Inspi d'ailleurs.
She made her comeback and released the track Jolie on 30 November 2018, accompanied by a video clip directed by Guillaume Doubet. On 11 January 2019, Shay released Cocorico, the second single from her new album, which she had previously announced would be released in 2019. On 22 February 2019, she released the track Notif, accompanied by a video clip that, like the video for Jolie, was directed by Guillaume Doubet. Her second album, Antidote, was released on 10 May 2019. On 1 July, she released the video for the song Liquide, a duet with French rapper Niska. The track was certified gold.
Discography
Albums
| Title | Album details | Peak positions | Certifications | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BEL (Wa) [6] |
FRA [7] |
SWI [8] | |||
| Jolie Garce |
|
48 | 60 | — | |
| Antidote |
|
5 | 15 | 43 |
|
Singles
As lead artist
| Title | Year | Peak positions | Certifications | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BEL (Wa) [6] |
FRA [7] | ||||
| "XCII" | 2015 | — | 153 | Non-album song | |
| "PMW" | 2016 | 9 (Ultratip*) |
33 |
|
Jolie Garce |
| "Biche" | — | 72 | |||
| "Cabeza" | 29 (Ultratip*) |
107 |
| ||
| "Jolie" | 2018 | 30 (Ultratip*) |
38 | Antidote | |
| "Cocorico" | 2019 | — | 102 | ||
| "Notif" | 15 (Ultratip*) |
22 | * SNEP: Gold[9] | ||
| "DA" | 2022 | — | 40 | Non-album singles | |
| "Jollie Go" | 2023 | — | 32 | ||
| "Comando" | — | 61 [10] |
|||
| "Sans cœur" (featuring Niska) |
42 | — | |||
*Did not appear in the official Belgian Ultratop 50 charts, but rather in the bubbling under Ultratip charts.
Other charted songs
| Title | Year | Peak positions | Certifications | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BEL (Wa) [6] |
FRA [7] | ||||
| "Thibaut Courtois" | 2016 | 16 (Ultratip*) |
39 |
|
Jolie Garce |
| "La go" | — | 178 | |||
| "Liquide" (feat. Niska) |
2019 | — | 21 |
|
Antidote |
| "Ich liebe dich" | — | 73 | |||
| "Cœur Wanted" | — | 87 | |||
| "Amour & Ses désastres" | — | 107 | |||
| "Même pas bonne" | — | 111 | |||
| "Désillusions" | — | 114 | |||
| "Pleurer" | — | 152 | |||
| "Villa" | — | 174 | |||
| "Oh oui" | — | 192 | |||
| "Prends ton time" | — | 200 | |||
*Did not appear in the official Belgian Ultratop 50 charts, but rather in the bubbling under Ultratip charts.
As featured artist
| Title | Year | Peak positions | Certifications | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FRA [7] | ||||
| "Ivre" (Benash feat. Shay & Damso) |
2017 | 75 |
|
CDG |
| "Guerrier" (Fally Ipupa feat. Shay & Damso) |
— | Tokoos | ||
| "Pim pom" (Jul feat. Shay) |
2018 | 33 | Inspi d'ailleurs | |
| "Kobe" (Fresh feat. Shay) |
2022 | 27 | Non-album song |
Filmography
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Rhythm + Flow: Nouvelle École | Judge | Released on Netflix |
References
- ↑ Le Monde: Shay, la "bad girl" du rap francophone (in French)
- ↑ Obs: Rap cru et ambition assumée : le féminisme selon Shay (in French)
- ↑ 20 minutes: Après cinq ans de travail, Shay sort son premier album «Jolie Garce» (in French)
- ↑ "Shay - Universal Music France". universalmusic.fr (in French). Retrieved 20 April 2022.
- ↑ "Musique – Shay : "J'ai une relation d'amour avec l'Afrique et la RD Congo, mon pays" – Jeune Afrique". JeuneAfrique.com (in French). Retrieved 20 April 2022.
- 1 2 3 "Shay discography". ultratop.be. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
- 1 2 3 4 "Shay discography". lescharts.com. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
- ↑ "Shay discography". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Les certifications". SNEP (in French). Retrieved 20 April 2022.
- ↑ "Top Singles (Week 41, 2022)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 16 October 2023.