Suspense Takes a More Business-Minded Approach to Her Dancehall Career

Nine years after winning Magnum Kings and Queens of Dancehall, Suspense is taking a more deliberate approach to her career, placing greater emphasis on music, branding and the business decisions surrounding her work.

The Jamaican dancehall artiste has spent much of 2026 recording new material, developing her artistic identity and pursuing opportunities outside Jamaica. In an interview published by the Jamaica Observer on September 21, she described the period as a “rebirth” and said the past eight months have involved reassessing how she wants to operate as an artiste.

That process has included experimenting with reggae, rap and house music while maintaining dancehall as the foundation of her sound.

Suspense has also taken her music overseas. According to the artiste, she completed three tours during 2026, including two in Canada and one in England.

Her recent releases have formed part of that wider activity.

Suspense identified “Too Bad,” her collaboration with Nhance, as one of the notable developments in her year. She told the Observer that the song has passed five million views on YouTube and generated more than 42,000 uses on TikTok. Those figures were provided by the artiste.

She followed the song with “Female Boss,” produced by Countree Hype. The track presents a different side of Suspense from some of her earlier material, with the artiste describing it as part of her exploration of a calmer sound.

The changes come as Suspense also reassesses the business structure around her music.

After three years under the same management arrangement, she has moved on from that agreement and is now working with the Monstaway team associated with Nhance. She has also developed professional relationships with Canada-based artistes and writers Tash Simone, Bugatti and Supreme.

Her international work has extended beyond music collaborations. Suspense has also worked with Canadian visual production company Abstract Production House.

Another part of her current schedule is “Serious,” a recording produced by Canada-based Realascanb. The song was scheduled for release on September 18, according to the Observer. She is also working on material produced and recorded by Kodistar in England.

For Suspense, the changes reflect a broader understanding of the industry since her emergence through Magnum Kings and Queens in 2017.

She told the Observer that her understanding of the business has expanded to areas including publishing, contracts, splits, relationships, branding and the need for artistes to create opportunities for themselves.

That shift has also influenced how she approaches her place within contemporary female dancehall. Suspense said she respects the women currently commanding attention in the genre while seeking to establish an identity based on her own music rather than following an existing formula.

Alongside the recording and touring activity, she has taken on an ambassadorial role with JAMRACK, a platform designed to connect artistes with their audiences.

The developments mark a new phase in a career that began with a major televised dancehall competition. Rather than centring the current chapter on a single release, Suspense is building it around several parts of the music business at once — recording, touring, international relationships, visual production and the management of her artistic brand.

For an artiste who first gained national attention in 2017, the focus now is on maintaining that career beyond the exposure of the competition that introduced her to a wider audience.