By Cherisse Moe, HER Magazine
Remember the name Seige Lander. This Trinidadian pop sensation is poised to take the music world by storm.
In just one year, she’s achieved what many artistes only dream of: signing with Compound Entertainment—the production powerhouse home to R&B singer, songwriter Ne-Yo (Shaffer Chimere Smith) —attending the Grammy Awards, and preparing to release her debut single, “Two Shots”.
“The whole experience was actually insane when you think about it,” says Lander, who goes by the stage name Sej. Still pinching herself, she reflects on a whirlwind rise that’s only beginning.
Her journey to stardom started with a mix of luck, talent, and relentless hustle. Her dad and his girlfriend, true believers in her potential, shared her music at every opportunity. One day, it landed in the hands of Compound Entertainment and before she knew it, Sej was jetting off to Las Vegas to meet Ne-Yo and collaborate on his track “Upper Level”. The pressure was on; she was asked to write a verse on the spot. “I was so nervous,” she recalls.
“These people are the real deal.” But Sej nailed it and was later signed. Now based in Florida, she works with award-winning producers, engineers, artistes, and writers, all part of the international music scene she once dreamed about back in St Joseph.
“It’s been amazing,” she shares in this exclusive interview.
“Travelling to London, Paris, Atlanta and Los Angeles and really honing in and finding my sound, I wouldn’t trade the experience for the world.”
A fusion of pop, R&B, Trinibad, dancehall, and hip-hop, Sej’s sound recalls the groundbreaking music of Rihanna, an artiste she really admires.
“Rihanna is the only Caribbean woman to bridge that gap of pop with the Caribbean essence and I have so much respect and love for her,” she says.
A chance childhood encounter with Rihanna on a beach in Barbados left a lasting impact. Starstruck, she barely had the courage to ask for an autograph, so her dad did. Rihanna signed a napkin, posed for a photo, and offered a younger Sej this advice: “If you set your mind to something and work hard enough, you can achieve it.” That stuck with me, says Sej
Sej’s artistic breakthrough came during a writing camp in London in March. That’s where she collaborated with producers and writers who shared her vision.
“I sat down with my favourite writer, Blession, who I met at the camp. Later, we were on FaceTime and he told me he had this beat he thought that I would be perfect for,” she says, reflecting on the process of her debut single, to be officially released on November 8.
“I heard it and immediately said yes, let’s do it! I was going through a breakup; it just made sense.” For the 23-year-old, representing her roots is important, so she infuses it into every track, telling us that, “I try to always include Trinidad and Dominica – where my dad is from – in all my songs. There’s always going to be some Caribbean breadcrumbs in everything I make.”
Sej’s songwriting is deeply personal too. “Two Shots”, is a groovy, upbeat track she co-wrote after a heartbreak. She only began writing her own songs two years ago, thanks to Nigel, a friend and engineer, who saw the importance of self-expression. The first song she ever wrote was “Closer”, inspired by a crush she couldn’t quite confess.
“One day, he mentioned that he was seeing a girl, and I was like ‘oh’. Closed mouths don’t get fed so I needed to tell him how I felt,” she laughs.
A unique chapter in Sej’s’s story involves soca icon Machel Montano. In 2021, she was cast in his music video for “Gud Gud” and she seized the opportunity to share her dream of becoming a professional singer, sending him her music covers.
A week later, Montano called with good news—he liked her work! Impressed by her talent, he offered her invaluable advice. “He said I had the potential to cross over in that field, but I needed to leave Trinidad.” Motivated, she made up her mind then and there to move abroad and dedicate herself fully to her music career.
Sej’s journey wasn’t without challenges though. The daughter of a surgeon and with relatives who are doctors and engineers, her family expected her to pursue medicine when she left St Joseph’s Convent, St Joseph.
“In those Caribbean family group chats they’re giving you a side eye thinking, ‘does this girl really think she’s gonna be a singer?’” she laughs. But Sej’s commitment and passion eventually won them over. “Just the other day, one of my aunts sent me a video of my baby cousin singing the lyrics to my ‘Two Shots’, which was really sweet.”
Sejr’s dreams are big.
One day she hopes to make music with American pop star Drake, Jamaican sensation Sean Paul and Trinidad’s own, Nicki Minaj (Onika Maraj-Petty). Her ultimate goal? To become a global chart-topping artiste who inspires the next generation of Caribbean youth.
“I want them to know that their dream is not too big for their small island. You can achieve them if you work hard enough, believe in God and trust in His timing.”
As she gets ready to release her debut single on November 8, Sej concludes this interview with a call for support: “Your love and encouragement would mean the world to me!.”
