Saint Jhn Makes Music That He Wants to Hear

As one of the more eclectic artists in hip-hop, 28-year-old artist Saint Jhn is being recognized by Swisher Sweets for his unique artistry. The Brooklyn rapper, who’s part of the Swisher Sweets Artist Project Class of 2019, started grinding in the music business as a songwriter under his real name, Carlos St. John. But being behind the scenes wasn't his end goal. His vision was to tell his life story through his own voice.

“I didn’t want to tell my story through my words in someone else’s voice,” Saint Jhn says. “I didn’t want to tell my entire life story that way. At some point, I had to be able to take the mic and tell you what the details were.”

Last year, Jhn released his debut album, Collection One, which features vibrant songs for the club (“God Bless the Ratchets") and for cruising (“Selfish”). “I just wanted to make a project that I care about,” he shares of the album. “Collection One was a project...if I died the day it came out I would have been proud like I’ve done something in the way that I wanted to do it.”

His creativity continued into 2019 as well. Ghetto Lenny’s Love Songs, Saint Jhn's follow-up to Collection One, arrived this summer. Standout tracks on the LP include the street-oriented banger “Trap” featuring Lil Baby, the lush ballad “Borders” featuring Lenny Kravitz and the bouncy “5 Thousand Singles.”

When it comes to his creative process, Jhn, who is currently being managed by Kareem "Biggs" Burke of Circle of Success Management Company, chooses to make songs that he wants to hear on the radio.

“I’m the most selfish artist you will ever meet [and] I don’t mean that I'm not giving,” he explains. “I make these songs for me. That’s the truth. I make them because that’s what I want to hear. Long before you ever hear it, believe that I’m in a Porsche with the top off listening to it."

For Saint Jhn, success is being able to create music without boundaries or inhibitions. “People use the word success often, I don’t use that word,” he reveals. “That’s not what it feels like. It feels like I’m halfway from being able to tell a story I fully want to tell.”

Watch Saint Jhn discuss his music and creative freedom in Swisher Sweets' Sealed With Freshness interview below.

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