Shayna McHayle (born October 31, 1991), known professionally by her stage name Junglepussy, is an American rapper and actress from New York City. Her first mixtape ''Satisfaction Guaranteed'' was released in 2014. She has received recognition from different artists such as

Erykah Badu Erica Abi Wright (born February 26, 1971), known professionally as Erykah Badu (), is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Influenced by rhythm and blues, R&B, Soul music, soul, and hip hop, Badu rose to prominence in the ...

and

Lil' Kim Kimberly Denise Jones (born July 11, 1974), Those giving 1974 include: * * * * * better known by her stage name Lil' Kim, is an American rapper and reality television personality. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, she lived much of he ...

Early life

Shayna McHayle was born in

East New York, Brooklyn East New York is a residential neighborhood in the eastern section of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City, United States. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise, are roughly the Cemetery Belt and the Queens borough lin ...

on October 31, 1991, to a Jamaican father and a Trinidadian mother. After her parents got divorced, she was raised by her mother. Her mother encouraged her to be creative, allowing her to dye her hair as a form of self-expression, and encouraged McHayle and her sisters to practice self-love. She started rapping in high school with a group of friends called Primp, until graduation at 16. After graduating she attended the

Fashion Institute of Technology The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) is a public college in New York City. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) and focuses on art, business, design, mass communication, and technology connected to the fashion industry. It ...

, until getting a job in retail and starting a

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel as a pastime.

Career

In 2012, she released her first track as Junglepussy, "Cream Team" on YouTube, followed by "Stitches". In 2013, she performed alongside rapper

at Westway. In January 2014,

posted "Cream Team" on her

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

and

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

. On June 10, 2014, Junglepussy released her debut mixtape ''Satisfaction Guaranteed''. The self-released 11 track compilation debuted on the ''

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character tra ...

'' website. Junglepussy later released videos for the songs "Nah" and "Me" on her official YouTube channel. On August 20, 2015, she announced her next album would be titled '' Pregnant with Success'', based on a lyric from "You Don't Know". On the same day, Junglepussy released a video for the assumed first single from the album, "Now or Later". The album was released on November 17, 2015. It was included on year-end lists by publications such as ''

Fact A fact is a datum about one or more aspects of a circumstance, which, if accepted as true and proven true, allows a logical conclusion to be reached on a true–false evaluation. Standard reference works are often used to check facts. Scient ...

'', ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

'', and ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

''. On May 11, 2018, she released an album, ''JP3'', which features guest appearances from

Rico Love Richard Preston Butler Jr. (born December 3, 1982), better known by his stage name Rico Love, is an American record producer, songwriter, singer, and rapper. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, but split his childhood between Milwaukee, Wiscon ...

Gangsta Boo Lola Chantrelle Mitchell (born August 7, 1979), better known by her stage name Gangsta Boo, is an American rapper, who was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee. She was the second female member (after K-9) of the Memphis-based hip hop group Thr ...

Wiki A wiki ( ) is an online hypertext publication collaboratively edited and managed by its own audience, using a web browser. A typical wiki contains multiple pages for the subjects or scope of the project, and could be either open to the pu ...

, and Quin. The album was leaked a day before its release. At

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, ''JP3'' received an average score of 83, based on 6 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". ''

Vibe ''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down productio ...

'' included it on the "25 Hip-Hop Albums by Bomb Womxn of 2018" list. It was nominated by the

American Association of Independent Music The American Association of Independent Music (A2IM) is a trade association that represents independent record labels in the United States, founded in 2005. A2IM is headquartered in New York City, with chapters located in Nashville, Chicago, North ...

for its 2019 indie music-celebrating Libera Awards in the category of Best Hip-Hop/Rap Album. She made her acting debut in the comedy film ''

Support the Girls ''Support the Girls'' is a 2018 American comedy film written and directed by Andrew Bujalski. It stars Regina Hall, Haley Lu Richardson, James LeGros, Shayna McHayle, Dylan Gelula, AJ Michalka, Brooklyn Decker, Jana Kramer, John Elvis, Lea DeLaria, ...

'' (2018). In 2020, Junglepussy released ''JP4'', her fourth studio album, which Guardian described as "a moody blend of

nu-metal Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, sometimes called aggro-metal) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop, alternative rock, funk, industrial, and grunge. Nu metal ...

, alt-rock and funk". ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' described the record as "stunning", praising McHayle for uniting "a multitude of sounds" and "scoping multiple genres" while still producing a cohesive and enduring record". The album features appearances from

and Ian Isiah. In 2022, Junglepussy released the 5 track “JP5000” project to high acclaim from publications such as Pitchfork, Metacritic, and more.

Artistry

Musical style and influences

In a 2014 interview with ''

Interview An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" ...

'', Junglepussy cited she has taken inspiration from musicians such as

Missy Elliott Melissa Arnette Elliott (born July 1, 1971), better known as Missy Elliott or Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliot, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She embarked on her music career with R&B girl group Sista in the earl ...

Lady Saw Marion Hall (born 12 July 1969; formerly known by the stage name Lady Saw) is a Jamaican singer and songwriter whose career has spanned over two decades. Formerly known as the Queen of Dancehall, she is the first female deejay to be certified ...

Kelis Kelis Rogers-Mora (; born August 21, 1979), known mononymously as Kelis, is an American singer, songwriter and a professionally trained chef. At age 14, she was admitted to New York's Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Perform ...

Busta Rhymes Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after NFL and CFL wide receiver ...

Vybz Kartel Adidja Azim Palmer (born 7 January 1976), better known as Vybz Kartel, is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall recording artist, composer, record producer, and entrepreneur. Among his various nicknames, he is referred to as "Worl' Boss". As summarize ...

, Mavado,

The Veronicas The Veronicas is an Australian pop duo from Brisbane. The group was formed in 2004 by identical twin sisters Lisa and Jessica Origliasso. In 2005, the Veronicas released their debut studio album, titled '' The Secret Life of...'', which peak ...

Metric Metric or metrical may refer to: * Metric system, an internationally adopted decimal system of measurement * An adjective indicating relation to measurement in general, or a noun describing a specific type of measurement Mathematics In mathema ...

Gossip Gossip is idle talk or rumour, especially about the personal or private affairs of others; the act is also known as dishing or tattling. Gossip is a topic of research in evolutionary psychology, which has found gossip to be an important means ...

, and

Soulja Boy DeAndre Cortez Way (born July 28, 1990), known professionally as Soulja Boy (formerly Soulja Boy Tell 'Em), is an American rapper and record producer. He rose to prominence, after his self published debut single "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" peake ...

Public image

Junglepussy explained that as a young woman she was mostly influenced by the television show ''

Moesha ''Moesha'' () is an American television sitcom that aired on UPN from January 23, 1996, to May 14, 2001. The series stars R&B singer Brandy Norwood as Moesha Denise Mitchell, an African-American teenager living with her upper middle class famil ...

'', starring singer/actress

Brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured with ...

. She said in ''

Paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distributed ...

'': "Growing up, I would see Brandy on ''Moesha'' and see her keeping in her cornrows and her braids, but still flourish in her art and music, looking fly. I loved ''Moesha'' as a child, but now I take away something more special from it. Just because you're a black girl, it doesn't mean you need to only care about hair and makeup. Brandy cared about books, culture and where she was going — you can do both."

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Pregnant with Success'' (2015) * ''JP3'' (2018) *''JP4'' (2020)

Mixtapes

* ''Satisfaction Guaranteed'' (2014) * ''JP5000'' (2022)

Singles

* "You Don't Know" (2015) * "Now or Later" (2015) * "State of the Union" (2018) * "Showers" (2018) * "Trader Joe" (2018) * "They Know" (2018) * "Spiders" (2019) * "Main Attraction" (2020) * "Arugula" (2020)

Guest appearances

Dai Burger Dainene Alexia Baldwin (born February 13), best known by her stage name, Dai Burger (/deɪ/) is an American rapper. She is from Queens in New York City. She has released two studio albums to date. Early life Baldwin was born and raised in Que ...

– "Titty Attack" from ''Raw Burger'' (2011) *

Le1f Khalif Diouf, known by his stage name Le1f (), is an American rapper and producer. He also founded the record label Camp & Street, with Boody, DonChristian, and Chaz Requina. As a gay rapper he's garnered attention for his musical and perform ...

– "Oils" from ''

Tree House A tree house, tree fort or treeshed is a platform or building constructed around, next to or among the trunk or branches of one or more mature trees while above ground level. Tree houses can be used for recreation, work space, habitation, a han ...

'' (2013) *

Rome Fortune Jerome "Rome" Fortune (born October 13, 1988) is an American rapper. who rose to prominence after the release of his ''Beautiful Pimp'' mixtape in 2013. Influenced by a diverse range of musical traditions, Fortune has released 6 EPs and has colla ...

– "Payin' for It" from ''Drive, Thighs & Lies'' (2014) * Scooter Island – "#NOTYOURS" from ''

Broad City ''Broad City'' is an American television sitcom created by and starring Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson. It was developed from their independent web series of the same name, which was produced between 2009 and 2011. The sitcom, like the web series ...

(Original Series Soundtrack)'' (2015) *

Shy Girls Dan Vidmar, best known by his stage name Shy Girls, is an American alternative R&B singer-songwriter and producer currently based in Portland, Oregon. His debut EP, ''Timeshare'', was released in 2013 to critical acclaim on the Internet. Throu ...

– "Always the Same" from ''4WZ'' (2015) * Le1f – "Swirl" from ''

Riot Boi ''Riot Boi'' is the debut studio album by New York-based rapper Le1f. It was released on November 13, 2015 on XL and Terrible Records. The album features contributions and production work from artists such as Evian Christ, Junglepussy Shayna M ...

'' (2015) *

Lion Babe Lion Babe is an American R&B duo from New York City, consisting of singer Jillian Hervey and record producer Lucas Goodman. Following their meeting through a mutual friend, the pair released the single "Treat Me Like Fire" in 2012, which raised ...

– "Still in Love" from ''Sun Joint'' (2016) * Brenmar – "Like a Hoe" from ''High End Times'' (2016) * Nick Hook – "Dive for You" from ''Relationships'' (2016) *

Nadia Rose Nadia Rose (born 11 June 1993) is a British rapper and songwriter from Croydon, London. Education Rose studied Music and Music Management at university. Career Rose released her debut EP ''Highly Flammable'' on 13 January 2017 following the ...

– "Breathe Slow" (2017) * Gabriel Garzón-Montano – "The Game Remix" (2018) * TXS – "Don't Tempt Me" from ''Everything Is Bigger'' (2018) *

Pussy Riot Pussy Riot is a Russian feminist protest and performance art group based in Moscow that became popular for its provocative punk rock music which later turned into a more accessible style. Founded in August 2011, it has had a membership of appr ...

- “Hangers” (2019)

Filmography

Film

* ''

'' (2018), Danyelle

Television