Although he bagged an impressive triple nomination, Guyana’s ‘Brown Skin Girl’ singer, SAINt JHN was only successful in one category of the 2021 Video Music Awards (VMA)s. When the winners were announced on September 12, SAINt JHN, born Carlos St. John Phillips, copped the Best Cinematography Award at the VMAs, for his hit song, ‘Brown Skin Girl. He shares this win with an iconic group of musicians led by ‘Queen Bey’ herself, Beyoncé Knowles, along with her daughter Blue Ivy Carter and WizKid. The actual cinematography of the piece was done by Benoit Soler, Malik H. Sayeed, Mohammaed Atta Ahmed, Santiago Gonzalez and Ryan Helfant.

Just months ago, the United States-based Guyanese rapper copped two Grammy Awards. At the VMAs, he was in line to and well-positioned to claim three VMA’s, including the Best R&B Video of the Year – a nomination he also shares with Beyonce and her daughter, Blue Ivy Carter who lent their voices to the iconic ‘Brown Skin Girl’ song, which he wrote.

Outside of ‘Brown Skin Girl’, Phillips was also been nominated for ‘Push Performer’ of the Year, for his song, ‘Gorgeous’. In that category, he lost to Olivia Rodrigo, with her song, “driver’s license.”

Previously, at the Grammy Awards, Phillips’ popular hit song “Roses – Imanbek Remix” claimed the award for Best Remixed Recording. “Brown Skin Girl” also secured Best Music Video. Phillips, who reacted on twitter at that time, said, “Two songs I wrote won Grammys today in real life.” He wrote to his 80,000 followers, “Imagine not believing in me a year ago.” The 3x-platinum, “Roses – Imanbek Remix,” peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2020 and soared to No. 1 in countries such as the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The song also has over a billion Spotify streams, with its music video boasting 145 million views on YouTube.

The artist, who was recently in Guyana, and was interviewed on local radio station, 94.1 Boom FM mid-last year, said his homeland played a major part of his life story and who he is today. He related that during his younger years, he was bouncing between Brooklyn, New York and Dennis Street, Campbellville, in Georgetown, and had become well exposed to two different worlds. The 34-year-old artist said that Guyana helped him get to where he is.

“This is part of my story. If I was a kid, and I was 12 years old, I wouldn’t have known that it was possible. But I promise you, the next 12-year-old kid, now they know it is possible. Now they know they have a personal example of how it could happen,” the artist said during the interview.

During his previous visit to Guyana, SAINt JHN also met with a number of officials from the People’s Progressive Party/Civic, including First Lady, Mrs. Arya Ali. In a post on her official Facebook page, the First Lady said, “It was truly my pleasure to host this international icon who has brought much positive energy and international attention to Guyana…we discussed many issues of mutual interest; most of which were related to the welfare of children and how we can both use our platforms to help some of those vulnerable groups in Guyana.”

Mrs. Ali in her post said that Saint JHN had also expressed his desire to continue working with the Office of the First Lady, along with other groups to provide much needed support and expertise. “I am grateful for the opportunity to have been able to share my ideas with him as we both seek to build a better life for children all across Guyana,” Mrs. Ali concluded.

Meanwhile, SAINt JHN has also pledged to utilise his newfound international fame to pave the way for young Guyanese to make their way to the international arena, and share a space on the big stage. We at the Buzz are encouraged by SAINt JHN’s approach and we wish him well.