Carlos St. John Phillips (born August 26, 1986), known professionally as Saint Jhn (stylized as SAINt JHN; pronounced "Saint John"), is a
Guyanese-American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer.
He is best known for the 2019 remix to his 2016 song "
Roses
A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be e ...
". The remix, produced by Kazakh DJ
Imanbek
Imanbek Maratuly Zeikenov ( kk, Иманбек Маратұлы Зейкенов, İmanbek Maratūly Zeikenov; born 21 October 2000), known mononymously as Imanbek, is a Kazakh electronic dance music record producer. In 2019, he became kno ...
, reached the top 5 of the US
''Billboard'' Hot 100 and topped the charts in Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. The song became the lead single for Saint Jhn's third studio album, ''
While the World Was Burning'' released on November 20, 2020. Prior, he released his debut album ''
Collection One'' in 2018, which was followed by ''Ghetto Lenny's Love Songs'', an album released in 2019.
He has written songs for
Kanye West
Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer.
Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...
,
Jidenna
Jidenna Theodore Mobisson (born May 4, 1985), known mononymously as Jidenna, is an American rapper and singer. In 2015, Jidenna released two singles, "Classic Man" (featuring Roman GianArthur and Kendrick Lamar) and " Yoga" (with Janelle Monáe ...
,
Usher,
Hoodie Allen
Steven Adam Markowitz (born August 19, 1988), better known by his stage name Hoodie Allen, is an American rapper, singer and songwriter from Plainview, New York. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, he began working at Google befo ...
, and
Kiesza
Kiesa Rae Ellestad (born January 16, 1989), known professionally as Kiesza ( ), is a Canadian singer and multi-instrumentalist from Calgary.
In 2017, she was involved in a car accident in Toronto, suffering severe injuries that required her to ...
, among others.
He is a founding member of the music collective Gødd Complexx.
Early life
Phillips was born in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
,
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, and raised in
Georgetown, Guyana
Georgetown is the capital (political), capital and largest city of Guyana. It is situated in Demerara-Mahaica, region 4, on the Atlantic Ocean coast, at the mouth of the Demerara River. It is nicknamed the "Garden City of the Caribbean." It is t ...
. Growing up, he split his time in three-year intervals between Guyana and the
East New York
East New York is a residential neighborhood in the eastern section of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City, United States. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise, are roughly the Cemetery Belt and the Queens borough li ...
neighborhood of Brooklyn. He began creating music when he was twelve years old and was inspired by his older brother, who would rap in the neighborhood with friends. He wrote his first song in his first year of high school while living in Guyana.
Career
Prior to adopting the Saint Jhn stage name, he performed and wrote using his birth name, Carlos St. John (or Carlos Saint John).
In 2010, he released an EP, ''The St. John Portfolio'', and a mixtape, ''In Association'', under his birth name.
Soon after, he was flown to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, by music executive Zach Katz. For two months, he wrote songs for
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to the ...
, but none of his records were accepted. After returning home, Saint Jhn co-wrote the
Hoodie Allen
Steven Adam Markowitz (born August 19, 1988), better known by his stage name Hoodie Allen, is an American rapper, singer and songwriter from Plainview, New York. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, he began working at Google befo ...
song, "No Interruption".
In the following years, Saint Jhn wrote songs for
Kiesza
Kiesa Rae Ellestad (born January 16, 1989), known professionally as Kiesza ( ), is a Canadian singer and multi-instrumentalist from Calgary.
In 2017, she was involved in a car accident in Toronto, suffering severe injuries that required her to ...
,
Gorgon City
Gorgon City are an English electronic music production duo consisting of two North London producers Kye "Foamo" Gibbon and Matt "RackNRuin" Robson-Scott. Their 2013 debut single " Real" peaked at number 44 on the UK Singles Chart. They are also w ...
, and
Nico & Vinz
Nico & Vinz are a Norwegian duo consisting of Kahouly Nicolay "Nico" Sereba from Holmlia, Oslo and Vincent "Vinzy V" Dery from Lambertseter, Oslo. They formed in 2010 as Envy but changed their name to Nico & Vinz by the end of 2012. They are comm ...
, among others.
In 2016, he earned a writer credit for the
Usher songs, "
Crash
Crash or CRASH may refer to:
Common meanings
* Collision, an impact between two or more objects
* Crash (computing), a condition where a program ceases to respond
* Cardiac arrest, a medical condition in which the heart stops beating
* Couch su ...
" and "
Rivals
A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...
", both of which appeared on the album ''
Hard II Love
''Hard II Love'' is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Usher. It was released on September 16, 2016, by RCA Records. Recording sessions took place between from 2013 to 2016, including the executive production from Usher, alon ...
''.
Also in 2016, he released his first song under the moniker Saint Jhn, entitled "1999".
He followed that with two more songs in 2016, "
Roses
A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be e ...
"
and "Reflex".
In October 2016, it was announced that Saint Jhn would open for
Post Malone
Austin Richard Post (born July 4, 1995), known professionally as Post Malone, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Known for his variegated vocals, Malone has gained acclaim for blending genres and subgenres of hip ...
during a run of shows on the
West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to:
Geography Australia
* Western Australia
*Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia
* West Coast, Tasmania
**West Coast Range, mountain range in the region
Canada
* Britis ...
.
In February 2017,
Jidenna
Jidenna Theodore Mobisson (born May 4, 1985), known mononymously as Jidenna, is an American rapper and singer. In 2015, Jidenna released two singles, "Classic Man" (featuring Roman GianArthur and Kendrick Lamar) and " Yoga" (with Janelle Monáe ...
's album, ''
The Chief'', was released featuring the song, "Helicopters / Beware", which Saint Jhn co-wrote.
The following month, Saint Jhn released another original track, "3 Below".
In October of that year, he played at two festivals,
Rolling Loud
Rolling Loud is an international hip hop music festival held in the United States, Europe, Australia and Canada. Established in 2015, it is "one of the biggest rap-only festivals in the world" according to ''Complex'', while '' Billboard'' called ...
and the
Voodoo Experience
The Voodoo Music + Arts Experience (formerly The Voodoo Music Experience), commonly referred to as Voodoo or Voodoo Fest, is a multi-day music and arts festival held in City Park in New Orleans, Louisiana.
The Voodoo Experience has hosted more ...
. He also released another new song, "Hermes Freestyle".
In February 2018, Saint Jhn released "I Heard You Got Too Litt Last Night".
In early March, he released the song, "Albino Blue",
and on March 30, 2018, his debut album was released. At that time, the already-released songs on the album had accrued 50 million total streams on various platforms. In addition to working on music and a tour in support of ''
Collection One'', Saint Jhn was hired by
Gucci
Gucci (, ; ) is an Italian high-end luxury fashion house based in Florence, Italy. Its product lines include handbags, ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories, and home decoration; and it licenses its name and branding to Coty, Inc. for fragrance ...
as a model for its "Guilty" campaign alongside
Adesuwa Aighewi
Adesuwa Thongpond Pariyasapat Aighewi is an American fashion model and filmmaker. In 2018, she was chosen as the runner up for “Breakout Star of the Year” by models.com. As of January 2019, Aighewi ranks as one of the “Top 50” models by ...
.
In April 2020, Saint Jhn's single "Roses" hit number one on the
ARIA Charts
The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...
as well as the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
, surged by the release of the
Imanbek
Imanbek Maratuly Zeikenov ( kk, Иманбек Маратұлы Зейкенов, İmanbek Maratūly Zeikenov; born 21 October 2000), known mononymously as Imanbek, is a Kazakh electronic dance music record producer. In 2019, he became kno ...
remix.
The song later received two other remixes, with
Future
The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently ...
and
J Balvin
José Álvaro Osorio Balvín (born 7 May 1985), known professionally as J Balvin, is a Colombian singer and songwriter. He has been referred to as the " Prince of Reggaeton" (from Spanish: "Príncipe del Reggaetón"), and is one of the best-sell ...
, respectively.
In early October 2020, Saint Jhn was among the acts who performed live for the
2020 ''Billboard'' Music Awards, following the success of "Roses".
On October 23, 2020, he released the video for the single, "Gorgeous", which serves as the lead single for his third studio album, ''
While the World Was Burning''. On October 26, he revealed the album's artwork, tracklist, and release date as November 20, 2020. The album includes the songs "High School Reunion, Prom", featuring
Lil Uzi Vert
Symere Bysil Woods ( ; born July 31, 1995), known professionally as Lil Uzi Vert, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. They are characterized by their face tattoo, facial tattoos, facial piercings, eccentric hairstyles and androgynous ...
, "Monica Lewinsky, Election Year", featuring
DaBaby
Jonathan Lyndale Kirk (born December 22, 1991), known professionally as DaBaby (formerly known as Baby Jesus), is an American rapper. After releasing several mixtapes between 2014 and 2018, he rose to mainstream prominence with his debut albu ...
and
A Boogie wit da Hoodie, as well as "Pray 4 Me", featuring
Kanye West
Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer.
Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...
.
Discography
Studio albums
Extended plays
Mixtapes
Singles
As lead artist
As featured artist
Songwriting and production
Notes
References
External links
Saint Jhn on SoundCloudOfficial website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jhn, Saint
1986 births
Living people
American people of Guyanese descent
21st-century Guyanese male singers
American hip hop singers
Rappers from Brooklyn
21st-century American rappers
African-American rappers
Grammy Award winners
21st-century African-American musicians
20th-century African-American people
LGBT_African_Americans
Trap musicians
American contemporary R&B singers