Sometime in February of 2018 I was perusing Spotify as one does and came across a new release entitled "I Heard You Got Too Litt Last Night" by someone named SAINt JHN. My immediate reaction was, "Oh this is gonna be some generic, soundcloud, mumble rap type of music, but I hit play regardless.
What played was not just some common trap or R&B song.
I was instantly drawn in. Some of my favorite tunes the past few years have been slower, different sounding rap and trap songs with some melody and overall good feelings while still keeping the tempo a little slower. Think "YOSEMITE" by Travis Scott or "REBORN" by KIDS SEE GHOSTS. This one fit right in. I waited for his debut project, "Collection One", and was delighted with what we got. Plenty of bangers that span various types of sound.
You have "Selfish", which is more of a sing-song R&B track...
"Reflex" is another slow jam that I'll often play either right before or right after "Selfish"...
One that really grew on me is "Brilliant Bitch"; there's parts to sing along to and it maintains a nice sort of slow, deep sound.
Other songs off of Collection One that get a lot of love include: 3 Below, GOD BLESS THE RATCHETS, and N***a Sh*t (Swoosh).
On Collection One, he mixes his sound and style pretty nicely. It's somewhat of an experimental project with Ghetto Lenny feeling different things out. When you get to his latest release, the aptly titled "Ghetto Lenny's Love Songs", you can hear a more fleshed-out version of the Guyana/Brooklyn native. As the album title would lead you to believe, it's more of an emotional, slow album which is right up my alley. There's heavy R&B and soul influence that works so nicely with his vocal capabilities. Some of my favorites include:
"Anything Can Happen" featuring Meek Mill. The first single I heard from the album was so goddamn catchy that I was instantly hooked. You then cut Jhn's style with Meek Mill's verse and it all comes to together so well.
"Wedding Day" is a great way to kick off the album as the opening track.
There's "Trap" featuring Lil Baby, "All I Want Is A Yacht", "I Can Fvcking Tell" and "5 Thousand Singles".
Maybe my sneaky favorite SAINt JHN song, "94 Bentley". Everything about this song works.
I've heard two separate people call him a more trap-style Kid Cudi with some Caribbean influence, and that not only sounds correct to me but it also sounds just downright delightful. Ghetto Lenny himself credits Lenny Kravitz (featured on the song "Borders") as being one of the all time musical greats and draws significant influence from him ranging from music to clothing to general energy. What really does it for me is the production on his songs. His beats are almost always on point and the way his voice matches the instrumental is phenomenal. He has pretty impressive vocal range that will hopefully only get better as he progresses as an artist.
Start paying attention to SAINt JHN if you haven't been already. His first two big projects have been great and he should only get better as he goes forward. Music aside, he's a great personality to follow. He's funny, seems down to Earth while still being boastful, seems to have a good head on his shoulders and has a unique outlook on life due to his upbringing being between Brooklyn and Guyana. He's not quite a fashionista in the same vein as ASAP Rocky, but loves his garments. He loves cigars. He's Ghetto Lenny and he deserves your attention.
