Known for being a musician in a school full of students, SAINT KID is not afraid to be different—he is not afraid to act like a professional musician, even though he is still in high school. He performs at local venues, releases singles frequently, and posts his song lyrics on Genius. As I listened to his music, it was immediately evident that SAINT KID is not your average highschool rapper—even from a quick listen, it is obvious that his melodies, lyrics, and production are far above what we expect from most highschool musicians.
His vocal delivery sounds focused and deliberate. His ability to sing accurate pitches immediately places him above the crowd of Autotune artists that have unfortunately become popular over the past few years. He is also capable of conveying different feelings: his songs capture feelings such as delight, desperation, and despondency.
Intriguingly, much of SAINT KID’s music is thematically romantic. His most popular tracks, “Hold Me Down”, “Problems”, and “Calling”, all focus on distinct aspects of the romantic experience. On the track, “Hold Me Down”, SAINT KID sings about his emotional reliance upon a partner, as he asks her to hold him down. On “Problems”, SAINT KID sings about his inability to trust his partner due to their struggling communication. “Calling”, too, is about trust and commitment issues: “Why she never call me // she say that she love me // why can’t she be honest,”
Many of these romantic themes are repeated. Specifically, ideas about attachment, trust, commitment, and self-worth in a romantic context are explored thoroughly from SAINT KID’s perspective. His emotions come through as raw, powerful, and unadulterated. If you follow his songs chronologically, his discography feels like a diary, like a collection of specific moments in his life where his emotions overpower his soul and fill him with the desire to sing how he feels.
However, although his romantic lyrics do feel heartfelt—SAINT KID’s performances certainly convince the listener of the sincerity of his emotions—they lack complexity. His lyricism frequently resorts to the usage of romantic clichés. “Sale”, one of his most heartfelt songs, is an example of such lyrical naivete. Instead of exploring his emotions with original lyrics, he chooses to rely on clichés as a crutch: “Life goes on repeat,”, “I’ll treat you so much better baby,”, “I think you can fix me,”
His production (SAINT KID produces most of his own music) can be questionable, too. Some of his earlier works would definitely benefit from a greater focus on SAINT KID’s voice rather than obtrusive instrumental backing tracks. His past few singles, however, have been much more intelligently produced—and they sound much better for it.
SAINT KID is clearly a talented musician, and his ability to write, perform, and produce his own music will certainly separate him from the majority of modern singers, who are limited to simply performing. He is versatile and skilled at coming up with good melodies. He is also clearly improving—SAINT KID’s recent singles sound levels above the music he made a year or two ago.
Some of his songs, “Hold Me Down”, “Calling”, and “Location” specifically, are genuine hits. They sound good enough to be playing on a radio station—and catchy enough to blow up on TikTok.
If you haven’t listened to SAINT KID’s music before, I recommend that you give it a chance—it is definitely worth a few minutes of your time.