SAINt JHN Calls Out His ‘Racist’ Experience Living In Puerto Rico: ‘It’s Loud, Active, And Very Present’

February 10, 2025
SAINt JHN is calling out Puerto Rico for racism and the absence of dark-skinned music artists.
SAINt JHN is speaking out about the racism he’s encountered while living in Puerto Rico, describing it as “loud, active, and very present.”
The Guyanese-American rapper and singer has been living in his beautiful “art-filled home” (as cited by Forbes) in Puerto Rico for a few years. During a recent appearance on The Way Up with Angela Yee, the Brooklyn-born musician opened up about the racism he’s experienced while living on the island.
“If I’m being really transparent, Puerto Rico’s racist. No one talks about that, and I’ve never even said that out loud,” Saint Jhn declared in a clip
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The “Roses” singer spoke out about the colorism he believes affects the Latin music industry, highlighting the underrepresentation of dark-skinned Afro-Latino artists in mainstream music.
“Even when you think of Latin artists, you don’t think of nobody that don’t look whitish,” he continued.
SAINt JHN called out the artists that he feels get to “represent the culture” and how they lack diverse ranges of color.
“You don’t see any, you don’t see people of varying color,” he said. “You start thinking that only that exists, and only that should be celebrated, because that’s the only thing that they’re allowing to be celebrated.”
The “Who Do You Blame” singer recalled a trip to the mall where he noticed that no one acknowledged him, and he believes it was because of the color of his skin.
“I remember nobody looking at me. And I remember thinking, ‘OK, that’s not crazy that people aren’t looking at me.’ But people would go out of their way to not look in my direction,” SAINt JHN explained.
“And it took me a while to process. I was like, ‘What’s going on here?’ I just didn’t get it. I couldn’t, because my brain doesn’t default to, ‘They don’t love me because of the color of my skin.’ Because my skin is beautiful. I’m glowing.”
SAINt JHN’s criticism about the racism in Puerto Rico sparked a debate, with some agreeing and others shutting down his claims of the island having no dark-skinned Latin artists.
“Yes and no. Artists of diverse colors are celebrated and recognized, i.e., Celia Cruz, Tego Calderon, Don Amor, etc. BUT colorism does exist,” one person wrote.
“Eeeeeehhhhhh wrong. Just cause you don’t understand the language doesn’t mean no one talks about it,” added someone else. “Tego Calderon made ALBUMS regarding the active racism and colorism in Puerto Rico.”
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