# LightSkinKeisha

Samantha Deshaun (born September 4, 1994), known professionally as LightSkinKeisha, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, actress, and influencer. She started her online career in 2014, posting comedic videos to Instagram and YouTube, several of which went viral.
She released her debut single as a rapper, "Weather", in 2017. After signing with L.A. Reid's record label Hitco in 2018, she released six mixtapes from 2018 to 2023: That's Just the Bottom Line (2018)—which featured her breakout singles "Believe Dat" and "Ride Good"—Act Up SZN (2019), Talk That Talk, Clones (both 2020), Break the Bank (2021), and Thought I Was Done? (2023).
On television, she appeared on the ninth season of the reality television series Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta (2020) and made her acting debut as BruShandria Carmichael on the Starz television series Power Book II: Ghost (2020–2024).

## Life and career

Samantha Deshaun was born on September 4, 1994 in Decatur, Georgia and raised in Atlanta by a single mother along with her seven siblings. She started cheerleading competitively at age 7 and competed for 13 years until she began working in the service industry.
LightSkinKeisha's stage name was inspired by the character Kisha from the 1998 film Belly, whom she described as "dark-skin Kisha". She first became popular as an influencer for comedic videos she posted to her Instagram and YouTube accounts starting in 2014, wherein she discussed her relationships and everyday life. A video of her rapping about "burnt pussy lips" went viral and soundtracked twerking videos on YouTube and Dubsmash. Her debut single as a rapper, "Weather", was released on SoundCloud in the summer of 2017 and gained traction on the service. She released her single "Treadmill" in June 2018 along with an animated web series for the song. Her song "Believe Dat" was released in August 2018 with a music video filmed at Magic City. In 2018, LightSkinKeisha was signed to the L.A. Reid-owned record label, Hitco. Her debut mixtape, That's Just the Bottom Line, was released in December 2018 and included "Believe Dat" and her breakout song "Ride Good" featuring B. Smyth. On July 26, 2019, she released the mixtape Act Up SZN on streaming through Hitco.
LightSkinKeisha was nominated for the iHeartRadio Music Award for Best New R&B Artist in 2020. LightSkinKeisha released the mixtapes Talk That Talk and Clones in February and September 2020, respectively, with "B.R.A.T." (featuring Blac Youngsta) released as the lead single of Clones. She was featured on the Saucy Santana song "Back It Up", which was released as a single from his debut album, Pretty Little Gangsta, in August 2020 with a music video. She released her mixtape Break the Bank in 2021, which was preceded by the singles "Blue Hunnids" and "Freaky Dancer", which featured Trina. Her single "Pop Shit Queen" was released in February 2022. She released the project Thought I Was Done? in May 2023.
LightSkinKeisha appeared on the reality television series Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta in its ninth season in 2020. Also in 2020, she began starring on the Courtney A. Kemp-created Starz crime drama television series Power Book II: Ghost as BruShandria Carmichael, an outspoken college student, and appeared on the show's first three seasons.

## Musical style

LightSkinKeisha's music is hip hop and R&B. Chris Kelly of The Washington Post wrote in 2019 that LightSkinKeisha's music "offer[ed] sexually empowered lyrics and the outsize swagger of [her] male counterparts". Aleia Woods of XXL described her rapping flow as "in-your-face", while The Source wrote that she had a "demanding attitude" in her music. Robyn Mowatt of Okayplayer wrote that LightSkinKeisha's music was "filled with brash soliloquies and catchy lines paired with bouncy trap beats".

## Personal life

LightSkinKeisha has stated that she was homeless in early 2018 and alternated between living in hotels and in her car. LightSkinKeisha got engaged to rapper Coca Vango in 2022 and married him in January 2024. Their son, Amin, was born on January 14, 2024.

## Discography
### Mixtapes

List of extended plays, with selected details :
| Title | Details |
| That's Just the Bottom Line | Released: December 14, 2018 Label: Craft Recordings Formats: Digital download, streaming |
| Act Up SZN | Released: July 29, 2019 Label: Self-released Formats: Digital download, streaming |
| Talk That Talk | Released: February 11, 2020 Label: Self-released Formats: Digital download, streaming |
| Clones | Released: September 2, 2020 Label: Self-released Formats: Digital download, streaming |
| Break the Bank | Released: October 14, 2021 Label: Self-released Formats: Digital download, streaming |
| Thought I Was Done? | Released: May 16, 2023 Label: Self-released Formats: Digital download, streaming |

### Singles
#### As lead artist

List of singles as lead artist, with selected chart positions :
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album |
| Title | Year | US R&B/HH Air. | Album |
| "Weather" | 2017 | — | Non-album singles |
| "Cash Shit" | 2017 | — | Non-album singles |
| "Treadmill" | 2018 | — | Non-album singles |
| "Believe Dat" | 2018 | 39 | That's Just the Bottom Line |
| "Ride Good" (featuring B. Smyth) | 2018 | 26 | That's Just the Bottom Line |
| "I'm Gucci" | 2018 | — | That's Just the Bottom Line |
| "Hey LightSkin" (featuring Yella Beezy) | 2019 | — | Non-album single |
| "On Read" (featuring Kash Doll) | 2019 | — | Act Up SZN |
| "PBWA" | 2019 | — | Talk That Talk |
| "Queen Kong" | 2020 | — | Clones |
| "B.R.A.T." (featuring Blac Youngsta) | 2020 | — | Clones |
| "FDH" | 2021 | — | Break the Bank |
| "Sheesh" (with Kissie Lee) | 2021 | — | My Love |
| "Drama" | 2021 | — | Non-album single |
| "Blue Hunnids" | 2021 | — | Break the Bank |
| "Margarita" | 2021 | — | Break the Bank |
| "Freaky Dancer" (featuring Trina) | 2021 | — | Break the Bank |
| "Pop Shit Queen" | 2022 | — | Thought I Was Done? |
| "Play Me" | 2022 | — | Thought I Was Done? |
| "Gimme Head" | 2022 | — | Thought I Was Done? |
| "Ass on Me" | 2023 | — | Thought I Was Done? |
| "Fine AF" | 2023 | — | Non-album single |

#### As featured artist

List of singles as featured artist :
| Title | Year | Album |
| "Poppin' Champagne" (Showtime Showtime featuring LightSkinKeisha) | 2017 | Non-album single |
| "Sassy" (Blacc Zacc featuring LightSkinKeisha) | 2019 | Trappin Like Zacc |
| "On His Face" (Trina featuring LightSkinKeisha) | 2019 | The One |
| "Atlanta" (Stevie B. featuring LightSkinKeisha) | 2019 | Non-album single |
| "Back It Up" (Saucy Santana featuring LightSkinKeisha) | 2020 | Pretty Little Gangsta |
| "Falling Apart" (Lil Migo featuring LightSkinKeisha) | 2020 | Non-album single |
| "It's a Vibe" (Saucy Santana featuring LightSkinKeisha and DreamDoll) | 2020 | It's a Vibe |
| "Top Bitch" (Chinese Kitty featuring LightSkinKeisha) | 2021 | SMD |
| "I'm Dat Girl" (36 Rich featuring LightSkinKeisha) | 2022 | Non-album singles |
| "Outside" (J3X featuring LightSkinKeisha) | 2022 | Non-album singles |

#### Guest appearances

List of guest appearances :
| Title | Year | Other artist(s) | Album |
| "Do It" | 2018 | Latto | Mulatto |
| "Light Skin Like Keisha" | 2018 | Ace Cino | Mafia Life |
| "Okay Bitch" | 2018 | Tokyo Vanity, Tasha Catour | B.A.P.S |
| "Snow" | 2018 | Coca Vango | Jugg Baby |
| "4 Play" | 2019 | L.I. Tha Great | The Collective Project |
| "Nasty Wit It" | 2019 | Nechie | SSN: Southside Nechi (The Full Story) |
| "Freak Freak" | 2019 | Coca Vango, Renni Rucci | Mr. Vango |
| "Gymnastics" | 2019 | Trip Rexx | Lopsided |
| "PowerPuff Girls" | 2020 | Kelow LaTesha, Rico Nasty | TSA |
| "Bankroll" | 2020 | Coca Vango | From Rags to Jugg Riches |

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Role | Note |
| 2019 | Wild 'n Out | Herself | Episode: "Ski Mask the Slump God/LightSkinKeisha" |
| 2020 | Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta | Herself | Recurring (season 9) |
| 2020–2024 | Power Book II: Ghost | BruShandria Carmichael | Recurring role; 22 episodes |
| 2022 | The Real Housewives of Atlanta | Herself | Episode: "The Edge of Fashion" |