Sashae goes hard on ‘Deja Vu’

Portmore, St Catherine-based dancehall artiste Sashae has catapulted herself into the spotlight following the recent release of her socially conscious track, Deja Vu, with its hard-hitting observations about the dynamics of class and political corruption.

The track gives voice to the current state of affairs in Jamaica, tackling issues such as the increasing levels of poverty, income inequality, crime, political censorship and corruption. While issues of political corruption among other social ills have always plagued Jamaica, Sashae believes that the country is at a critical crossroads, as this juncture of time just 'feels different'.

"How long can we as a country take these broken promises?" she asked.

"Is a crossroads we reach, the lack of hope, the senseless murders, there's a universal recognition that something is wrong with the state of the country. And in every bar, and every street corner, there is a feeling like everyone just accepts what's going on. No one is doing anything to really change things. Are we really going to take this again?" she said.

Sashae said she has got tremendous feedback to Deja Vu since its release online, with the track registering thousands of views.

"My song is just an observation that we have always had these problems, and we grew up hearing politicians making promises on how they will fix and change it. But these promises are never fulfilled, hence the name Deja Vu, the same thing over and over again," she said.

In September 2019, Sashae released her full-length debut album titled Transformation. She is now ready to take the next step.

A product of Greater Portmore, Sashae, given name Yonique Richards, attended Bridgeport High School, where she performed at concerts and other events. She was also a regular on sound systems in the St Catherine area, such as Embassy International and Flava Unit, with whom she performed on weekends, creating lyrics on the spot.