I am not influenced by Rema – American rapper, Saint Jhn

By Taiwo Okanlawon

Guyanese-American singer and rapper, Saint Jhn, has denied being influenced by Nigerian afrobeats star, Divine Ikubor, popularly known as Rema.

The ‘Brown Skin Girl’ crooner issued the disclaimer after a fan claimed his latest afro-themed single, ‘Humble’ was heavily influenced by Rema.

Saint explained that Rema is talented but he hasn’t listened to his music enough to be influenced by him.

On X, the fan wrote: “I hear Rema’s influence on the new Saint Jhn.”

Reacting, Saint Jhn wrote, “Nah, he’s dope. But I haven’t heard enough to be influenced.”

Saint Jhn whose real name is Carlos St. John Phillips is a Guyanese-American rapper and singer best known for the 2019 remix to his 2016 song “Roses”.

The remix, produced by Kazakh DJ Imanbek, 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 (2018), its follow up, Ghetto Lenny’s Love Songs (2019) through the L.A. Reid’s label Hitco.

He has written songs for artists including Kanye West, Jidenna, Usher, Hoodie Allen, and Kiesza, among others. He is a founding member of the music collective Gødd Complexx.