A collision of feelings, ideas, and misty ambiance, SAINt JHN’s music is a living mosaic. Pulling from his dual upbringing in Guyana and Brooklyn, he swirls themes of love, joy, and sorrow with emotive R&B, hip-hop, and Afrofusion into an inimitable kaleidoscope of sounds and sensations. You could call it genre-fluid, but it’s easier to say it’s SAINt JHN, a singer-songwriter and model who has earned two Grammy Awards and a global fan base while becoming one of the most distinct voices in the world of music. With The Collection II, he reminds everyone how he earned his reputation. It’s also the beginning of a new chapter in his musical career.
“I’ve given people Collection One, Ghetto Lenny’s Love Songs, and While the World Was Burning, and I’ve allowed them to see me at enough different angles that I can introduce where I’m going next with authority,” says JHN. “The first time you saw me, I painted with six colors, and the second time you saw me, I painted with eight,” he adds. “I always planned on painting with 32.”
Checking in at 31 minutes, JHN’s latest portrait is as emotional as it is virtuosic—a constellation of sonic textures that are as varied as the feelings he has learned to embrace.
Over the course of the project, he oscillates between ambient trap, sleek R&B and pulsing Afrobeat at the intersection of lust and dancefloor excursions. For “White Diamonds,” he kisses gleaming synths with gentle confessions and a diaphanous baritone. Stylish and tender, it’s as anthemic as it is cathartic—a lover’s theme song situated between interrogation and romantic surrender. Elsewhere, he burrows into the depths of his trauma as his warbles sink into an ambient soundscape that evokes clarity and isolation: “I’m angry that you said it wouldn’t hurt, but it cut deep.” Dynamic, engrossing, and utterly fearless, The Collection II is the most compelling release of SAINt JHN’s career. It’s just the latest step in a journey that began in Brooklyn years ago.
JHN remembers he and his nine siblings alternating between the BK and Guyana at three-year intervals. It was an upbringing that cultivated his stylistic DNA. At his father’s Guyana home, he remembers finding magic in his Vol. 3… Life and Times of S. Carter cassette. But beyond it he discovered the soundtrack of the region, with offerings from Beenie Man and Super Cat becoming his theme songs. “I was mixing dancehall with rap because I just fell in love with Jay,” he remembers. “Dancehall was everywhere.”
SAINt JHN’s own musical forays were inspired by his older brother. While JHN used to make fun of him for his raps, things changed after seeing him participate in a street cypher. “There were a bunch of people around him and he looked like he was leading an orchestra,” JHN says. “He was manipulating their emotions with his words, and I thought that was really miraculous.”
At age 12, JHN tried to recreate his brother’s miracles by stealing his verses, but when he went back to Guyana himself, he was left to write his own raps. Naturally, with a little time, he got pretty good. After seeing Beenie Man perform, he made the decision to pursue rap as an actual career. Those early days included $20 recording sessions, cheap recording software, and at least one ill-fated talent show. But in between the disappointments, JHN could see the outlines of a dream.
“I used to look really deep into the future because my life was in shambles,” he recalls. “So I figured rather than succumb to whatever pain I was enduring at the time, I could forecast 10 years forward, no fucking way that things would be the same no matter what happens.”
In the 2010s, JHN’s tenacity began paying off in spades as he ended up writing for the likes of Hoodie Allen, Usher, and Nico & Vinz, solidifying his status as a versatile songwriter. In 2016, he released “Roses,” which was propelled to No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 after a remix in 2020. Subsequent releases like Collection One, Ghetto Lenny’s Love Songs, and While the World Was Burning plus an appearance alongside Beyoncé for the The Lion King soundtrack only crystallized his star status. With Valentino and Gucci enlisting him for fashion campaigns, his aspirations continued to grow. And they’ll grow more with The Collection Two.
In a career that stretches across a decade, SAINt JHN has held down various titles, from singer-rapper to songwriter and model. Ever philosophical, he might feel more comfortable with the label of liberator. Through music, he looks to free himself and others. For SAINt JHN, the journey is paved in reflection, experimentation, and belief.
“If I record a new song and I learn something new about myself, that’s a victory for me, small or tall,” he says. “I’m fighting to be heard. I’m fighting to free myself. I’m fighting for visibility for me and the people that look like me. I’m fighting for freedom.”