Saint JHN Says Racism in Puerto Rico is “Loud, Active and Very Present”

Guyanese-American artist and rapper Carlos St. John Phillips, better known by his stage name Saint Jhn, is most famously known for his 2016 song “Roses,” which was remixed in 2019.

According to Forbes, he has been residing at his stunning “art-filled home” in Puerto Rico for a few years.

On a recent episode of “Way Up with Angela Yee,” the Brooklyn-born artist talked candidly about the racism he has faced on the island.

Speaking out, Saint JHN describes the racism he has experienced in Puerto Rico as “loud, active, and very present.”

He raised awareness of the underrepresentation of dark-skinned Afro-Latino musicians in popular music and discussed colorism, which he believes has an impact on the Latin music industry.

He added that he feels that the reason no one paid him any attention during a trip to the mall was because of the color of his skin.

“I remember nobody looking at me. And I remember thinking, ‘OK, that’s not crazy that people aren’t looking at me.’ But people would go out of their way not to look in my direction,” he recalled.

He continued by saying that when people think of Latin musicians, they always think of those who have a “whitish” appearance.

Saint JHN condemned the artists who, in his view, have the chance to “represent the culture” for lacking wide ranges of color.

“You don’t see any; you don’t see people of varying color. You start thinking that only that exists, and only that should be celebrated because that’s the only thing that they’re allowing to be celebrated,” he stated.

Saint JHN’s Rise to Fame

Saint JHN, before launching his own music in 2016, began his career writing songs for other musicians.

He started making music when he was twelve years old, influenced by his older brother, who would rap around the neighborhood with friends.

He used his birth name, Carlos Saint John, for both writing and performing before he took on the stage name Saint Jhn.

In 2016, he released “1999,” his debut single, and two further tracks, “Reflex” and “Roses.”

His “Roses” track became well-known in 2019 when Imanbek Zeikenov, a 19-year-old Kazakh train station employee, remixed “Roses.”

Imanbek added a new club-ready beat and a thick, catchy bassline that made it one of the world’s biggest hits.

He released his second album, “Ghetto Lenny’s Love Songs,” toured the world multiple times, and collaborated with Beyoncé and Wizkid on the Lion King soundtrack single Brown Skin Girl that same year.