Konshens Breaks Down ‘Pool Party’ LP & Explains Why A ‘Shake It to the Max’ Remix Would Be ‘Kinda Predictable’

Nearly a decade ago, Konshens dropped one of the biggest dancehall songs of the century in 2016’s “Bruk Off Your Back.” For his new studio album, Pool Party, which arrived on Friday (June 27) via Submachine Entertainment & FTS Global, the Jamaican artist mined that song’s summery, escapist energy for a thrilling new 15-track set. 

Featuring collaborations with The Game, Skillibeng, Charly Black, Eric Bellinger and Lil Duval, Pool Party is Konshens’ conscious effort to provide a 42-minute-long window for his audience to let go of the turmoil and trauma that currently dominate international headlines. From the steamy “Tight and Good” to “Bend,” which is sure to inspire interesting (and necessary) conversations about the relationship between dancehall and reggaetón, Pool Party promises a different track for each mood of an after-hours fete. 

Though the album is firmly rooted in traditional dancehall with contemporary flourishes, lead single “Back Dat Azz Up” exemplifies the connection between hip-hop and dancehall, with Konshens effortlessly flowing over Juvenile’s timeless classic. The song was born out of a live freestyle on Miami’s 103.5 The Beat radio station in early May, and the feverish reception inspired Konshens to record an official version of the song, which has already gotten him props from Birdman himself. 

“He told me it was fire, on Ms. Gladys,” Konshens, 40, says with pride. “It was big to get props from him, because that’s my era. I still haven’t gotten full feedback from Juvenile yet, which is what I really want — but he approved it. I haven’t seen him in person yet to see what the reaction would be, but ‘Back Dat Azz Up’ has always been one of the real party movers.” 

Konshens’ version of “Back Dat Azz Up” made its live debut during this year’s BET Experience ahead of the 2025 BET Awards, a preview of the world tour the star is currently planning in support of Pool Party. With an escapist album arriving at the close of Black Music Month, Caribbean-American Heritage Month and Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month, Konshens has delivered a project that is unmistakably of-the-moment without being crushed by the weight of said moment. 

In an energetic conversation with Billboard, Konshens breaks down Pool Party, names his all-time favorite dancehall artists, and explains why he won’t be remixing “Shake It to the Max” anytime soon.

When did you start working on Pool Party? 

Mi start work pon dis album two years ago. It’s been on and off. It’s been done like four different times, but I never quite felt it was really ready. One day, the title just came to me. The world is upside down right now, it’s a whole lotta bulls—t. War, natural disaster and all kinda ting. I didn’t want to do an album that reflected the current state that we’re in. I wanted to do an album that is the opposite. I didn’t want to do an album that people remembered [alongside] wildfires in California or an Israel-Iran war. That’s why I took an approach of, “Let’s party.”  

How did your version of “Back Dat Azz Up” come together? 

They put the beat on, and I just flowed. But it wasn’t a freestyle. It was bits and pieces put together dancehall-style. There are probably like three artists ever in dancehall who actually freestyle. N—as write that s—t. But di people dem said that they needed it on Spotify, so we recorded it, shot a video, history. 

When and where was most of the album recorded? 

All over the world because I’m always on the road. I’m one of the persons that [brings] the ProTools and the microphone everywhere. A lot of these songs I recorded straight off stage or straight off a flight. There’s a song on the album called “Shek It’ that I recorded in a room full of people inna mi suite after a show in Kenya. 

There’s no rules for me, I’ll do a little bit of everything. Sometimes I’ll write a whole song without a beat and ask a producer [to build something around that]. Sometimes, I’ll be in the room cooking from scratch and they send a beat and it’s fire. 

Who did you work with for this album? 

Izybeats did almost half of the album. [Other producers include] BomboCat from Costa Rica, Markhize, and Hitmaka, who did the song with Eric Bellinger. Nuff bad producers. 

Why did you choose to open the record with “Our Father?” 

Inna Jamaican dancehall, the first thing you fi do is bless di dance. Even though I’m trying to lean people towards partying on the album, we still have to have reverence and give thanks for protection. That’s what the song is really about. 

How did The Game end up on the album? 

I was in Germany, and I heard a song that sounded like reggae with hip-hop drums. I told Izy that I need a beat with hip-hop drums and Jr. Gong reggae feel. He sent me a beat in five minutes, and I cut the demo. We had the song for a year, and I decided to send it to The Game, and he sent back two verses. Easy. 

What are your top three songs from Pool Party? 

Number one for me is track 15, “Deserve It All”; that’s the mode I’m in. I feel like music blessed me, and mi nuh feel guilty about receiving those blessings. I want more. I’m claiming it. I want to empower people to feel like they deserve to be successful and achieve their goals. 

My second favorite is “Show Me.” It’s kinda raunchy and pays homage to “Purple Rain” by Prince and “Under the Influence” by Chris Brown. I’m very excited about adding it to my shows. Third is “Bend” featuring Skillibeng; mi feel like it bridges the gap between generations. Also, it’s on a reggaetón-type beat, so mi look forward to people asking me why that beat and me explaining that that whole genre is dancehall music. 

What’s your favorite place to perform that’s not home? 

You asked the question the right way! I would say Kenya, for sure. I was last there about four years ago. Wicked. A close second is Uganda; I was there three years ago. And then Guyana, Trinidad, etc.; I haven’t been in those markets in like eight years. Pool Party Tour going crazy. 

We’re at the stage where promoters are seeing that if we do this s—t right, people will come out and support our genre and our artists. We just need people to realize it can be done, not just do a likkle venue around di corner. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but we still need fi have a thing on a bigger level. People love dancehall and soca, but they don’t really respect it because we don’t present it like it should be presented all the time. But we’re in an upswing now where s—t is looking good. 

What excites you most about dancehall right now? 

The attention and the excitement of the fan base. I think the Afrobeats wave woke up the Caribbean artist wave; it kinda sparked a little competition. I’m seeing in real-time that people are more interested in shows. The biggest Afrobeats artists will tell you that they grew up on dancehall music, so I think it’s unfair to compare the genres because of the difference in population size. It’s not a matter of comparing, but I like the energy that it’s breeding in Caribbean music right now.  

Who’s on your all-time dancehall Mount Rushmore? 

Sean Paul. Vybz Kartel. Bounty Killer. Beenie Man. Can we put five? Can we put seven? 

Mi wan say Shaggy because Shaggy do what nobody else nuh do. But in terms of what mi grew up listening to, mi wan put Sizzla. But f—k that list! [Laughs]. People are gonna say Shabba [Ranks], I know. but I wasn’t there. When people talk about Vybz Kartel or Beenie Man, Kartel is hands down the most influential artist ever. But I was there to see n—as scared to go onstage after Beenie, mi see that with my own eyes. It’s never a clear-cut thing for me. Kartel influenced me inna di studio and Beenie influenced me with him live performance.  

What do you think of the new class of dancehall artists? 

Yo, the newer artists crazy, but my when generation came out, n—as before us said the same thing. And the ones before them said it too. We need fi give them some room fi grow and see what it becomes. Them n—as wild though! They’re like hybrid rockstar-vampires, yuh nuh know what you fi get! Badman, good yute, everything mixed. All of that’s exciting to me. We used to do murder music, and then me and Kartel brought back a Shabba-like hypersexual vibe. Them yute nowadays deal with scamming, so how can we judge? 

What’s it like to know that you have one of the biggest party hits of the century with “Bruk Off Your Back?” 

It’s definitely a good feeling. I did not go in and be like, “Yo, this is going to be one of those.” I’ve realized that artists make songs and people make hits. I go in, vibe and see what the people say. 

Are you going to hop on a “Shake It to the Max” remix? 

No. Silent Addy a mi bredren, mi feel like it’s kinda predictable. And right now, when it’s skyrocketing? Everybody wanna do a remix. Mi love remixes, whatever genre or artist. But this one might be a little bit of a dick-ride. 

What’s on your playlist right now? 

Mi like di bouyon ting. I think bouyon need that smash. [“Someone Else”] is hard. In Europe, you have a ting called shatta. Traditional dancehall breathed life into all of these different genres, mi just love to see what di new thing will be.