Shenseea’s “Playtime” with Asake has been out since November 6. It is the second song on “CATALYST,” the eight-track project she billed as an EP, and the official video went up on her YouTube channel that morning.
“Playtime” is a song about someone who won’t commit. “I’m not here for on and off,” Shenseea sings early, before the hook lands: “You don’t wanna match my energy, come find me when your playtime’s over.”
Asake takes the middle of the song, and his part comes back once more after the final hook. Apple credits him as a writer under his legal name, Ololade Ahmed, next to Shenseea, listed as CHINSEA LEE, in a writers’ room that also includes Tobi Oladigbolu and Samuel Awuku.
Sammy Soso, TSB and Supa Dups produced it. Supa Dups is the EP’s anchor. He also produced “Private” with Loe Shimmy and “2 Face Gyal,” and co-produced “Garden.” Manny Marroquin mixed all four of those songs.
In the preview, “Playtime” carries the fullest low end on the EP, level with “Private,” and the clip peaks early on the hook before easing down. “Private” moves the other way, building to its loudest point at the finish, while “Garden” leans on melody over drums.
CATALYST is out through Columbia and Since ’93 under licence from her own Shenyeng Inc., and two of its songs were already out. The opener, “Vulnerability,” arrived as a single on September 25, and “Talk To Me Nuh” with Vybz Kartel and Rvssian came in March. Her July single “BRUCKSWEAT” did not make the cut.
Asake is not her first Nigerian link this year. She also appears with Davido on the international remix of Yung Miami’s “Spend Dat,” a record that also carries Vybz Kartel.
“Playtime” also landed on the same day as Skepta’s “Aloe Vera,” where Asake is credited as a writer too. That put him on new records with a Jamaican star and a London one in a single release day.
Listen on Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/ng/song/playtime/6828206800
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/2roMAjSYH4LosdF1VtvCjy