{"id":726043,"date":"2026-05-07T16:35:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T13:35:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/cover-story-skaiwater-is-post-everything\/"},"modified":"2026-05-07T16:35:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T13:35:12","slug":"cover-story-skaiwater-is-post-everything","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/cover-story-skaiwater-is-post-everything\/","title":{"rendered":"Cover story: skaiwater is post everything"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"content_blocks\">\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<style>\n<p> article.custom .custom-title, article.custom .custom-media .caption {\n   color: #679dd4;\n }<\/p>\n<p> article.custom .custom-attribution, article.custom .custom-attribution a {\n   color: #679dd4;\n }<\/p>\n<p> article.custom .content_block blockquote.pull_quote {\n   color: #679dd4;\n }\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-279885\" class=\"content_block flush title center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"custom-title\">\n      skaiwater is post everything\n    <\/div>\n<div class=\"custom-description\">\n      The U.K. r<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>er\u2019s madcap vision is too big for the industry to handle. Now independent, the 25-year-old is documenting the state of the world, one fucked up song at a time.\n    <\/div>\n<div class=\"custom-attribution\">\n<div class=\"author\">\n    <span><br \/>\n      By <span class=\"credit_name\">Vivian Medithi<\/span><br \/>\n  <\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"photographer\">Photographer <span class=\"credit_name\">Nate Gotsis<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"photographer\">Fashion by <span class=\"credit_name\">Christine Vuong<\/span><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"custom-media\">\n<div class=\" image center_align\">\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1440,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/Skaiwater_cover_j7xmuk\/skaiwater-fader-cover-story-may-2026.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_220,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/Skaiwater_cover_j7xmuk\/skaiwater-fader-cover-story-may-2026.jpg 220w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_300,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/Skaiwater_cover_j7xmuk\/skaiwater-fader-cover-story-may-2026.jpg 300w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/Skaiwater_cover_j7xmuk\/skaiwater-fader-cover-story-may-2026.jpg 400w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/Skaiwater_cover_j7xmuk\/skaiwater-fader-cover-story-may-2026.jpg 600w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_750,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/Skaiwater_cover_j7xmuk\/skaiwater-fader-cover-story-may-2026.jpg 750w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_840,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/Skaiwater_cover_j7xmuk\/skaiwater-fader-cover-story-may-2026.jpg 840w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_960,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/Skaiwater_cover_j7xmuk\/skaiwater-fader-cover-story-may-2026.jpg 960w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1260,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/Skaiwater_cover_j7xmuk\/skaiwater-fader-cover-story-may-2026.jpg 1260w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1800,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/Skaiwater_cover_j7xmuk\/skaiwater-fader-cover-story-may-2026.jpg 1800w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/Skaiwater_cover_j7xmuk\/skaiwater-fader-cover-story-may-2026.jpg 2400w,\" sizes=\"100vw\" alt=\"Cover story: skaiwater is post everything\"><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"custom_share_buttons_top \" style=\"\">\n<div id=\"new_socials_bottom\" class=\"new_socials_footer  \">\n<p>      <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" width=\"40\" height=\"40\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thefader.com\/assets\/FDR_SocialSharing_Facebook-747312c39722d47504a80f02500b8d4ad2e36acf922bad1c83799db1bc77f605.png\"><br \/>\n      <!-- <span>Share<\/span> --><\/p>\n<p>  <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target='\"new\"' href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thefader.com%2F2026%2F05%2F05%2Fskaiwater-fader-cover-story-may-2026%3Futm_source%3Df%26utm_medium%3Dtw%26utm_campaign%3Dshare&amp;text=Cover%20story:%20skaiwater%20is%20post%20everything&amp;via=thefader\" class=\"new_social_footer_button twitter new_social_share_button\" data-ga-event-category=\"Social Share\" data-ga-event-label=\"Twitter\" data-ga-on=\"click\" data-ga-event-action=\"cilck\"><\/p>\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" width=\"40\" height=\"40\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thefader.com\/assets\/FDR_SocialSharing_Twitter-8d78f695280aa3f8a4461702c68e9fcbfd6042af1600c62d49fdec4b735fb57a.png\"><br \/>\n    <!-- <span>Tweet<\/span> --><br \/>\n  <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-280052\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>\n            <i><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_new\" href=\"https:\/\/z6sxlt8oo7a8z2cz-9498758.shopifypreview.com\/products_preview?preview_key=558e1a6b5eced054a42a2499522a0ff3\">Shop skaiwater\u2019s FADER Cover poster<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Editor\u2019s note: skaiwater is nonbinary and uses she\/they pronouns. This story uses the singular they for consistency.<\/i>\n          <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-280053\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<hr><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-280057\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>\n            <span class=\"lead-text\">S<\/span>kaiwater is hiding from their fans.\n          <\/p>\n<p>\n            90 seconds earlier, the 25-year-old had popped out from the backstage catacombs of Chicago\u2019s Avalon Music Hall hunting for a quiet spot to spark up (indica with grabba, rolled in a paper). But the escape was short lived; they\u2019d exited too close to the stage and were promptly spotted by a handful of people lingering near coat check. skai turns on their heel before the throng can even think to mob them and bursts into giggles. Now in a further corner, skai feels safe to spark up. Their lighter is like a flare in the shadows, but at this distance, their fans couldn\u2019t photograph them if they tried.\n          <\/p>\n<p>\n            skaiwater has been on tour for 19 days. Tonight is show 13 of 15 and their second performance in Chicago. Avalon Music Hall actually has two rooms, but skaiwater deliberately chose to book the smaller, which feels like it could host a neighborhood battle of the bands. skai wanted every venue to be 300 cap or smaller in an attempt to recapture the energy of seeing beabadoobee at a small club back in 2021. As a result, they say, the tour so far has been \u201cpretty fried.\u201d Every night, fans rush on stage just to fling themselves off, if skaiwater\u2019s bodyguard Black doesn\u2019t throw them back into the crowd himself. Their show in Orlando was especially memorable. \u201cI said to someone the mosh pit looked like boiling water,\u201d skaiwater says.\n          <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-280086\" class=\"content_block breaker triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left embed\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"\">\n    <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"skaiwater - The FADER May 2026 Cover Star\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/FUsFMnR6mHg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-280150\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<div class=\"\" style=\"padding-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; text-align: left;\">\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-280058\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>\n            skaiwater\u2019s vision for the tour was for it to be a \u201cmadhouse\u201d which is an apt summary of how their music feels. On their 2024 album <i>#gigi<\/i>, skaiwater filtered regional scenes like baile funk and Jersey club into a bass-blown reinvention of dance music. Their latest album, February\u2019s <i><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_new\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@thefader\/video\/7609082176881069342\">wonderful<\/a><\/i>, abandoned that for straight-up chaos: elements of beats redline, melodies peak through layers of Auto-Tune and distortion, endlessly sampled vocals, adlibs, and SFX smash into each other at similar frequencies. Over the cacophony, skai raps about sex, drugs, and their rock &amp; roll lifestyle, but also explores the way money and success corrupt art and love. \u201cShe don&#8217;t want love,\u201d skaiwater raps on \u201cA THREESOME,\u201d \u201cshe want a flight and some paper.\u201d\n          <\/p>\n<p>\n            <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"A THREESOME\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sBtF7mBD4Rc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n          <\/p>\n<p>\n            skai jokingly calls it \u201cnepo baby music,\u201d a way to describe how their catalog has granted them an expensive lifestyle and the ability to do \u201ca lot of random shit.\u201d\n          <\/p>\n<p>\n            \u201cIn the nepotism sense, I\u2019m my own father, you feel me?\u201d They take a long drag of their spliff. \u201cI\u2019m the son of what I\u2019ve done before.\u201d They exhale.\n          <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div class=\"content_block flush image\" id=\"content_block-280087\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1440,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-A-033A_yrme73\/remkits-coat-zhilyova-top.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_220,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-A-033A_yrme73\/remkits-coat-zhilyova-top.jpg 220w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_300,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-A-033A_yrme73\/remkits-coat-zhilyova-top.jpg 300w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-A-033A_yrme73\/remkits-coat-zhilyova-top.jpg 400w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-A-033A_yrme73\/remkits-coat-zhilyova-top.jpg 600w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_750,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-A-033A_yrme73\/remkits-coat-zhilyova-top.jpg 750w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_840,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-A-033A_yrme73\/remkits-coat-zhilyova-top.jpg 840w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_960,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-A-033A_yrme73\/remkits-coat-zhilyova-top.jpg 960w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1260,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-A-033A_yrme73\/remkits-coat-zhilyova-top.jpg 1260w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1800,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-A-033A_yrme73\/remkits-coat-zhilyova-top.jpg 1800w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-A-033A_yrme73\/remkits-coat-zhilyova-top.jpg 2400w,\" sizes=\"100vw\" alt=\"Cover story: skaiwater is post everything\"><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"img_caption\"><\/p>\n<p>    <span class=\"caption\"><br \/>\n      REMKITS coat, ZHILYOVA top<br \/>\n    <\/span><\/p>\n<p>  <span class=\"credit\"><br \/>\n      \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-280059\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>\n            What skai did before: established a foothold in the SoundCloud underground, inked a deal with GoodTalk, formerly known as Cinematic Music Group, went wildly viral on TikTok, released their first major-label project on Geffen Records, cinched a new deal with Capitol Records, and dropped an album and EP of exhilarating post-dance music. But in February 2025, they turned their back to the industry and went independent again.\n          <\/p>\n<p>\n            All art offers a window into the time of its creation, but more than any other contemporary musician, skaiwater sounds like the brutal, beautiful chaos of now, iridescent and jagged and bitcrushed beyond belief. Post-genre and fitting alongside the digital maximalism of artists like 100 gecs and Jim Legxacy, skaiwater\u2019s music can feel like being beset with notifications or pop-up ads, but the overstimulation is part and parcel of understanding skaiwater\u2019s vision of rap music today and, perhaps, the present state of the world: what it\u2019s like living in a country that supports fascism at home and genocide abroad, and all the mindless complacency and endemic oppressions that fuel these cycles of violence.\n          <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div class=\"content_block flush image\" id=\"content_block-280088\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1440,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-018_gqqlbt\/skai-s-own-jewelry.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_220,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-018_gqqlbt\/skai-s-own-jewelry.jpg 220w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_300,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-018_gqqlbt\/skai-s-own-jewelry.jpg 300w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-018_gqqlbt\/skai-s-own-jewelry.jpg 400w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-018_gqqlbt\/skai-s-own-jewelry.jpg 600w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_750,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-018_gqqlbt\/skai-s-own-jewelry.jpg 750w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_840,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-018_gqqlbt\/skai-s-own-jewelry.jpg 840w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_960,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-018_gqqlbt\/skai-s-own-jewelry.jpg 960w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1260,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-018_gqqlbt\/skai-s-own-jewelry.jpg 1260w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1800,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-018_gqqlbt\/skai-s-own-jewelry.jpg 1800w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-018_gqqlbt\/skai-s-own-jewelry.jpg 2400w,\" sizes=\"100vw\" alt=\"Cover story: skaiwater is post everything\"><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"img_caption\"><\/p>\n<p>    <span class=\"caption\"><br \/>\n      SKAI&#8217;S OWN jewelry<br \/>\n    <\/span><\/p>\n<p>  <span class=\"credit\"><br \/>\n      \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-280060\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>\n            skai has reached the end of their spliff. Through the doors, they hear <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_new\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/mainodaplug\/\">MainoDaPlug<\/a> hype up the crowd and head back inside. In the greenroom, skai greets their opener <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_new\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/tisteeleworldwide\/\">Ti Steele<\/a>\u2019s parents and poses for photos with Steele\u2019s younger sisters. They also flick up with <i>Vanderpump Rules<\/i> alum <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_new\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/jomygosh\/\">Jo Wenberg<\/a>, who tells me after the concert that she was blown away by skai\u2019s \u201cpunk\u201d energy, comparing it to a recent Taking Back Sunday show.\n          <\/p>\n<p>\n            skaiwater\u2019s music is often intense, sometimes even deliberately challenging. But it is not so niche nor inaccessible as their detractors would have you believe. If that offends genre purists and intractable peers, skaiwater doesn\u2019t care. They know their songs speak for the people that need it.\n          <\/p>\n<p>\n            \u201cA lot of people talking about hip-hop don\u2019t come from hip-hop,\u201d they say. \u201cBro, it&#8217;s a group of kids changing how we listen to this type of music. People just gotta get with it or get left. The discourse is the discourse, but the history will stay.\u201d\n          <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-280107\" class=\"content_block paragraph embed triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"\">\n    <iframe data-testid=\"embed-iframe\" style=\"border-radius:12px\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/album\/7yhdlOFnwXi1RxKAZOeL8q?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"352\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-280151\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<div class=\"\" style=\"padding-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; text-align: left;\">\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-280108\" class=\"content_block paragraph embed triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"\">\n    <iframe allow=\"autoplay *; encrypted-media *;\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"450\" style=\"width:100%;max-width:660px;overflow:hidden;background:transparent;\" sandbox=\"allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation\" src=\"https:\/\/embed.music.apple.com\/us\/album\/wonderful\/1876006672\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-280061\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<hr><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div class=\"content_block flush image\" id=\"content_block-280083\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1440,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-A-023A_xvce5j\/remkits-coat-zhilyova-top.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_220,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-A-023A_xvce5j\/remkits-coat-zhilyova-top.jpg 220w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_300,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-A-023A_xvce5j\/remkits-coat-zhilyova-top.jpg 300w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-A-023A_xvce5j\/remkits-coat-zhilyova-top.jpg 400w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-A-023A_xvce5j\/remkits-coat-zhilyova-top.jpg 600w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_750,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-A-023A_xvce5j\/remkits-coat-zhilyova-top.jpg 750w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_840,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-A-023A_xvce5j\/remkits-coat-zhilyova-top.jpg 840w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_960,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-A-023A_xvce5j\/remkits-coat-zhilyova-top.jpg 960w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1260,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-A-023A_xvce5j\/remkits-coat-zhilyova-top.jpg 1260w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1800,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-A-023A_xvce5j\/remkits-coat-zhilyova-top.jpg 1800w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-A-023A_xvce5j\/remkits-coat-zhilyova-top.jpg 2400w,\" sizes=\"100vw\" alt=\"Cover story: skaiwater is post everything\"><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"img_caption\"><\/p>\n<p>    <span class=\"caption\"><br \/>\n      REMKITS coat, ZHILYOVA top<br \/>\n    <\/span><\/p>\n<p>  <span class=\"credit\"><br \/>\n      \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-280062\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>\n            <span class=\"lead-text\">T<\/span>he day before their first Chicago show I\u2019m waiting for skaiwater outside a coffee shop near Anish Kapoor\u2019s giant metallic paraboloid \u201cCloud Gate,\u201d known colloquially as The Bean. The sky is mildly overcast and I\u2019m finishing a cigarette when skai arrives with their tour manager Kevin, bodyguard Black, and Ti Steele in tow. skai is dressed in almost all black with a balaclava over their head and furry boots on their feet. Their cluster of facial piercings \u2014 nose, dermal, brow \u2014 glitters when the sun breaches cloud cover. And despite the fact that their bomber jacket bears a logo that reads \u201cnew day same pain,\u201d skai is in high spirits, greeting me warmly as we pop inside so everyone can get snacks. skai, who\u2019s already holding a Sprite bottle filled with bright crimson soda, declines to purchase anything.\n          <\/p>\n<p>\n            It\u2019s their first time back in Chicago since Summer Smash 2025 and a slight gap in their tour schedule means they\u2019ve been able to relax a little, which really means they\u2019ve been catching up on sleep. I mention that I saw Chicago rapper lil2posh perform after that same festival last year, and skaiwater im<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a>tely declares him the \u201cbest dressed of my generation\u201d before directing Kevin to invite him to the show. (posh, we later learn, is unfortunately in Atlanta and can\u2019t make it.)\n          <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-280084\" class=\"content_block breaker triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left image\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1440,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-A-020A_nbn8fe\/remkits-coat-zhilyova-top.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_220,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-A-020A_nbn8fe\/remkits-coat-zhilyova-top.jpg 220w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_300,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-A-020A_nbn8fe\/remkits-coat-zhilyova-top.jpg 300w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-A-020A_nbn8fe\/remkits-coat-zhilyova-top.jpg 400w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-A-020A_nbn8fe\/remkits-coat-zhilyova-top.jpg 600w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_750,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-A-020A_nbn8fe\/remkits-coat-zhilyova-top.jpg 750w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_840,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-A-020A_nbn8fe\/remkits-coat-zhilyova-top.jpg 840w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_960,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-A-020A_nbn8fe\/remkits-coat-zhilyova-top.jpg 960w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1260,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-A-020A_nbn8fe\/remkits-coat-zhilyova-top.jpg 1260w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1800,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-A-020A_nbn8fe\/remkits-coat-zhilyova-top.jpg 1800w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-A-020A_nbn8fe\/remkits-coat-zhilyova-top.jpg 2400w,\" sizes=\"100vw\" alt=\"Cover story: skaiwater is post everything\"><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"img_caption\"><\/p>\n<p>    <span class=\"caption\"><br \/>\n      REMKITS coat, ZHILYOVA top<br \/>\n    <\/span><\/p>\n<p>  <span class=\"credit\"><br \/>\n      \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-280063\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>\n            When we\u2019d scheduled this interview, skaiwater\u2019s publicist told me the rapper wanted to go for a walk but I wasn\u2019t expecting it to be at one of the most foot-trafficked spots in the city. But if any of the tourists snapping photos of the reflective surface of The Bean recognize skai, they leave them be. We quickly find ourselves almost eerily alone for much of our walk through Millennium Park.\n          <\/p>\n<p>\n            At 5\u20197\u201d, skaiwater moves much faster than their frame would suggest. They haven\u2019t grown since their high school years, they say, wryly noting that their height has probably kept them from being arrested on some occasions. We periodically have to slow down to keep from outpacing their entourage and they begin telling me about their life growing up in the U.K.\n          <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div class=\"content_block flush image\" id=\"content_block-280085\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1440,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-A-026A_jtkf0i\/remkits-coat-zhilyova-top.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_220,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-A-026A_jtkf0i\/remkits-coat-zhilyova-top.jpg 220w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_300,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-A-026A_jtkf0i\/remkits-coat-zhilyova-top.jpg 300w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-A-026A_jtkf0i\/remkits-coat-zhilyova-top.jpg 400w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-A-026A_jtkf0i\/remkits-coat-zhilyova-top.jpg 600w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_750,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-A-026A_jtkf0i\/remkits-coat-zhilyova-top.jpg 750w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_840,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-A-026A_jtkf0i\/remkits-coat-zhilyova-top.jpg 840w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_960,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-A-026A_jtkf0i\/remkits-coat-zhilyova-top.jpg 960w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1260,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-A-026A_jtkf0i\/remkits-coat-zhilyova-top.jpg 1260w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1800,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-A-026A_jtkf0i\/remkits-coat-zhilyova-top.jpg 1800w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-A-026A_jtkf0i\/remkits-coat-zhilyova-top.jpg 2400w,\" sizes=\"100vw\" alt=\"Cover story: skaiwater is post everything\"><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"img_caption\"><\/p>\n<p>    <span class=\"caption\"><br \/>\n      REMKITS coat, ZHILYOVA top<br \/>\n    <\/span><\/p>\n<p>  <span class=\"credit\"><br \/>\n      \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-280065\" class=\"content_block breaker triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left pull_quote\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"pull_quote\"><p><big>A lot of people talking about hip-hop<br \/>\ndon\u2019t come from hip-hop.<br \/>\nIt\u2019s a group of kids changing<br \/>\nhow we listen to this type of music. <\/big><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-280064\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>\n            skaiwater was born Tyler Ryan Lee Jordan Brooks on August 31, 2000, to a British-Jamaican mother and a Sierra Leonean father in Nottingham, the central England city where their grandparents immigrated. Their brother Elijah was born a few years later. Growing up, they shared a bedroom and twin bunk beds until skai turned 18, finished film college, and began <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">travel<\/a>ing to the U.S.\n          <\/p>\n<p>\n            As a child, skai remembers spending school hours making <i>Sonic the Hedgehog<\/i> pixel art in <i>Minecraft<\/i> and being frightened by the murals at Wollaton Hall, a popular local landmark for school trips and birthday celebrations. But outside of these foggy details, skai tells me they don\u2019t have any other \u201cstrong memories\u201d of this period of their life. As we traipse southward past empty outdoor stages and flowers just beginning to bud, they\u2019d much rather talk about the music they grew up with.\n          <\/p>\n<p>\n            \u201cR&amp;B and pop, obviously, but a lot of baseline garage music back home. They would flip R&amp;B songs, innit,\u201d they recount, giddily. skai attributes their early music taste to their mom, who had skai when she was just 17 and would play music for them while she drove around in their car. \u201cThat\u2019s why I love Kanye so much. I really am a mummy\u2019s boy.\u201d\n          <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div class=\"content_block flush image\" id=\"content_block-280093\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1440,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-B-013A_iyzq7r\/valentino-pants-balenciaga-shoes-skai-s-own-custom-cuffs-vivienne-westwood-watch.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_220,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-B-013A_iyzq7r\/valentino-pants-balenciaga-shoes-skai-s-own-custom-cuffs-vivienne-westwood-watch.jpg 220w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_300,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-B-013A_iyzq7r\/valentino-pants-balenciaga-shoes-skai-s-own-custom-cuffs-vivienne-westwood-watch.jpg 300w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-B-013A_iyzq7r\/valentino-pants-balenciaga-shoes-skai-s-own-custom-cuffs-vivienne-westwood-watch.jpg 400w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-B-013A_iyzq7r\/valentino-pants-balenciaga-shoes-skai-s-own-custom-cuffs-vivienne-westwood-watch.jpg 600w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_750,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-B-013A_iyzq7r\/valentino-pants-balenciaga-shoes-skai-s-own-custom-cuffs-vivienne-westwood-watch.jpg 750w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_840,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-B-013A_iyzq7r\/valentino-pants-balenciaga-shoes-skai-s-own-custom-cuffs-vivienne-westwood-watch.jpg 840w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_960,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-B-013A_iyzq7r\/valentino-pants-balenciaga-shoes-skai-s-own-custom-cuffs-vivienne-westwood-watch.jpg 960w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1260,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-B-013A_iyzq7r\/valentino-pants-balenciaga-shoes-skai-s-own-custom-cuffs-vivienne-westwood-watch.jpg 1260w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1800,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-B-013A_iyzq7r\/valentino-pants-balenciaga-shoes-skai-s-own-custom-cuffs-vivienne-westwood-watch.jpg 1800w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-B-013A_iyzq7r\/valentino-pants-balenciaga-shoes-skai-s-own-custom-cuffs-vivienne-westwood-watch.jpg 2400w,\" sizes=\"100vw\" alt=\"Cover story: skaiwater is post everything\"><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"img_caption\"><\/p>\n<p>    <span class=\"caption\"><br \/>\n      VALENTINO pants, BALENCIAGA shoes (skai&#8217;s own), CUSTOM cuffs, VIVIENNE WESTWOOD watch<\/p>\n<p>    <\/span><\/p>\n<p>  <span class=\"credit\"><br \/>\n      \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-280066\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>\n            skaiwater\u2019s dad was a Yeezy fan, too: They remember him chopping up soul beats in the kitchen when they were young. They\u2019re particularly fond of an old cut where their dad flipped \u201cNever Gonna Let You Go\u201d by Blackstreet, breaking into song as they repeat the hook into my recorder. \u201cThe past era of hip-hop, a lot of it was based off of sampling. That\u2019s what made it hit for people culturally, repurposing shit that we weren\u2019t supposed to use,\u201d they say.\n          <\/p>\n<p>\n            skaiwater started making music when they were 10, producing their earliest instrumentals on an iPad with GarageBand (\u201cWas <i>ass<\/i> bro. That shit was terrible\u201d). They got their feet wet engineering and producing for their dad and Elijah, who started rapping first. Around the age of 16 or 17, a freestyle session in the car prompted their dad to encourage skai to make music. It was the final push skai needed to step out from behind the boards and in front of the mic.\n          <\/p>\n<p>\n            skaiwater started posting about music on the Internet forum <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_new\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kanyetothe.com\/\">Kanye To The<\/a> before moving to Twitter and Instagram around 2018. They joined a Twitter group chat for aspiring musical artists where they met Lil Nas X, pre \u201cOld Town Road\u201d fame, and began consistently releasing music. After Nas X blew up, skaiwater fielded a <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">series<\/a> of dead-end meetings with Def Jam and other labels in the spring and summer of 2019. At the end of that year, they met A&amp;R Sean Mula of Cinematic Music Group, later GoodTalk, who impressed skai enough to agree to a record deal.\n          <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-280067\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>\n            Mula, a clean-cut white guy whose beard and glasses remind me a little of Jack Harlow, discovered skaiwater on YouTube through their song \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_new\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/t3rTwq8x09I?si=phy3yZjpS4d9rUmq\">hellfire<\/a>\u201d which trappily flipped J. Cole\u2019s \u201cIn The Morning.\u201d \u201cskai was very melodic on it, sing-rapping,\u201d Mula says. \u201cskai is a very unique voice, which is something I always look for.\u201d\n          <\/p>\n<p>\n            skaiwater\u2019s earliest output \u2014 2019\u2019s <i><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_new\" href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/album\/1Sc8FgBBtmbgkc1qJEOLg8\">After God Fear Eve<\/a><\/i> and 2020\u2019s <i><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_new\" href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/album\/2PImutdzryZ6xCMunzZNaU\">Party Pack<\/a><\/i> \u2014 was heavily inspired by Atlanta rap but \u201cthose records weren\u2019t really connecting,\u201d Mula says. Many of skai\u2019s signature motifs coalesced a couple years later when they started producing more and experimenting with genres. \u201cThey started sending me demos that were drum &amp; bass and EDM and Jersey club. That shit just clicked.\u201d\n          <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div class=\"content_block flush image\" id=\"content_block-280104\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1440,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-B-033A_oyuolj\/valentino-pants-balenciaga-shoes-skai-s-own-custom-cuffs-vivienne-westwood-watch.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_220,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-B-033A_oyuolj\/valentino-pants-balenciaga-shoes-skai-s-own-custom-cuffs-vivienne-westwood-watch.jpg 220w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_300,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-B-033A_oyuolj\/valentino-pants-balenciaga-shoes-skai-s-own-custom-cuffs-vivienne-westwood-watch.jpg 300w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-B-033A_oyuolj\/valentino-pants-balenciaga-shoes-skai-s-own-custom-cuffs-vivienne-westwood-watch.jpg 400w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-B-033A_oyuolj\/valentino-pants-balenciaga-shoes-skai-s-own-custom-cuffs-vivienne-westwood-watch.jpg 600w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_750,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-B-033A_oyuolj\/valentino-pants-balenciaga-shoes-skai-s-own-custom-cuffs-vivienne-westwood-watch.jpg 750w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_840,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-B-033A_oyuolj\/valentino-pants-balenciaga-shoes-skai-s-own-custom-cuffs-vivienne-westwood-watch.jpg 840w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_960,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-B-033A_oyuolj\/valentino-pants-balenciaga-shoes-skai-s-own-custom-cuffs-vivienne-westwood-watch.jpg 960w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1260,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-B-033A_oyuolj\/valentino-pants-balenciaga-shoes-skai-s-own-custom-cuffs-vivienne-westwood-watch.jpg 1260w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1800,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-B-033A_oyuolj\/valentino-pants-balenciaga-shoes-skai-s-own-custom-cuffs-vivienne-westwood-watch.jpg 1800w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-B-033A_oyuolj\/valentino-pants-balenciaga-shoes-skai-s-own-custom-cuffs-vivienne-westwood-watch.jpg 2400w,\" sizes=\"100vw\" alt=\"Cover story: skaiwater is post everything\"><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"img_caption\"><\/p>\n<p>    <span class=\"caption\"><br \/>\n      VALENTINO pants, BALENCIAGA shoes (skai&#8217;s own), CUSTOM cuffs, VIVIENNE WESTWOOD watch<\/p>\n<p>    <\/span><\/p>\n<p>  <span class=\"credit\"><br \/>\n      \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-280105\" class=\"content_block paragraph image triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1440,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-B-032A_smxi8t\/valentino-pants-balenciaga-shoes-skai-s-own-custom-cuffs-vivienne-westwood-watch.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_220,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-B-032A_smxi8t\/valentino-pants-balenciaga-shoes-skai-s-own-custom-cuffs-vivienne-westwood-watch.jpg 220w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_300,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-B-032A_smxi8t\/valentino-pants-balenciaga-shoes-skai-s-own-custom-cuffs-vivienne-westwood-watch.jpg 300w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-B-032A_smxi8t\/valentino-pants-balenciaga-shoes-skai-s-own-custom-cuffs-vivienne-westwood-watch.jpg 400w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-B-032A_smxi8t\/valentino-pants-balenciaga-shoes-skai-s-own-custom-cuffs-vivienne-westwood-watch.jpg 600w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_750,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-B-032A_smxi8t\/valentino-pants-balenciaga-shoes-skai-s-own-custom-cuffs-vivienne-westwood-watch.jpg 750w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_840,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-B-032A_smxi8t\/valentino-pants-balenciaga-shoes-skai-s-own-custom-cuffs-vivienne-westwood-watch.jpg 840w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_960,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-B-032A_smxi8t\/valentino-pants-balenciaga-shoes-skai-s-own-custom-cuffs-vivienne-westwood-watch.jpg 960w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1260,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-B-032A_smxi8t\/valentino-pants-balenciaga-shoes-skai-s-own-custom-cuffs-vivienne-westwood-watch.jpg 1260w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1800,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-B-032A_smxi8t\/valentino-pants-balenciaga-shoes-skai-s-own-custom-cuffs-vivienne-westwood-watch.jpg 1800w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-B-032A_smxi8t\/valentino-pants-balenciaga-shoes-skai-s-own-custom-cuffs-vivienne-westwood-watch.jpg 2400w,\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 640px\" alt=\"Cover story: skaiwater is post everything\"><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"img_caption\"><\/p>\n<p>    <span class=\"caption\"><br \/>\n      VALENTINO pants, BALENCIAGA shoes (skai&#8217;s own), CUSTOM cuffs, VIVIENNE WESTWOOD watch<br \/>\n    <\/span><\/p>\n<p>  <span class=\"credit\"><br \/>\n      \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-280092\" class=\"content_block breaker triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left pull_quote\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"pull_quote\"><p><big>That\u2019s why I love Kanye so much.<br \/>\nI really am a mummy\u2019s boy.<\/big><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-280068\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>\n            Things were clicking for skaiwater outside of the studio, too. Visiting America to work on music in Atlanta and Los Angeles had expanded their opportunities and horizons, including their language for gender identity. Skai says that they first began to think of themself as nonbinary just before the pandemic though, they specify, the process was more about gaining the language to explain who they\u2019d always been rather than experiencing a change in identity.\n          <\/p>\n<p>\n            In Nottingham, skai says they didn\u2019t have any exposure to nonbinary people though their mother had gay and trans friends. \u201cGrowing up where I grew up, especially around a lot of Jamaican people, lower class people in that mindset, it&#8217;s kind of hard to get the right information about certain shit,\u201d they say. \u201cI spent a lot of my life just questioning everything. The label is only an answer to the question I had. There\u2019s no escaping labels, so you might as well find one that you like.\u201d\n          <\/p>\n<p>\n            One person skaiwater credits with helping them understand themselves better is Lil Nas X. \u201cHe\u2019s been like an angel for me. He\u2019s guided me spiritually a lot when I\u2019ve been lost,\u201d skaiwater says. \u201cOutside of music, outside of career, outside of looking for anything in the material world.\u201d They applaud Nas X for breaking down mainstream barriers as an openly gay rapper. \u201cHe showed me early it&#8217;s possible to not fall into that hypermasculine trap a lot of young black people fall into when they come up,\u201d they say.\n          <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div class=\"content_block flush image\" id=\"content_block-280091\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1440,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-012A_h2kziv\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_220,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-012A_h2kziv\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 220w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_300,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-012A_h2kziv\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 300w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-012A_h2kziv\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 400w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-012A_h2kziv\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 600w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_750,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-012A_h2kziv\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 750w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_840,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-012A_h2kziv\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 840w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_960,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-012A_h2kziv\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 960w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1260,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-012A_h2kziv\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 1260w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1800,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-012A_h2kziv\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 1800w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-012A_h2kziv\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 2400w,\" sizes=\"100vw\" alt=\"Cover story: skaiwater is post everything\"><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"img_caption\"><\/p>\n<p>    <span class=\"caption\"><br \/>\n      SKAI&#8217;S OWN pants, jewelry, and boxers<br \/>\n    <\/span><\/p>\n<p>  <span class=\"credit\"><br \/>\n      \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-280069\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>\n            The culture has been primed for a gender nonconforming rapper, if only in fits and starts. Lil Uzi Vert beginning to identify as nonbinary circa 2022 pushed hip-hop blogs to learn about they\/them pronouns, if only inconsistently. Even with these forebears, skaiwater has broached previously unprecedented territory for mainstream hip-hop. On their 2024 album <i>#gigi<\/i>, skai actively toys with gender expression, labeling themselves a \u201cplatinum bitch\u201d on \u201crain\u201d and keening, \u201cPlay with my \/ pussy not my emotions,\u201d on \u201creal feel.\u201d They paint their nails and wear women\u2019s clothing occasionally, though their style still <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a>ly adheres to the black clothing and exaggerated silhouettes of Playboi Carti\u2019s OPIUM aesthetic.\n          <\/p>\n<p>\n            To skaiwater, these displays are an unglamorous documentation of their life not an attempt to push an agenda with their music, though they agree that all art is political. Still, choosing to depict their real, gender-nonconforming life is inevitably charged, particularly now. \u201c<i>I was tryna be a boy for you<\/i>,\u201d they rap on \u201cone battle after another,\u201d a line that speaks not only to gendered expectations in their personal life but the pressure from the industry to present a certain image as a rapper, they say. It\u2019s this candor that\u2019s garnered them a fervent fanbase, legions of teens and 20-somethings who flood the comments of their finsta and show up to shows with trinkets for skaiwater to sign, or even just keep. And despite the predictably close-minded commenters calling them zesty on YouTube, skaiwater remains unphased.\n          <\/p>\n<p>\n            \u201cIt&#8217;s not my business how people feel about me,\u201d they say. \u201cI&#8217;ve been here from the jump. I came in this bitch, knowing what the fuck I wanted to do \u2014 so it doesn&#8217;t matter how they feel.\u201d\n          <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-280089\" class=\"content_block diptych triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper half_gutter_right gutter_btm\">\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_760,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/75519-C-014_eyqhdy\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_220,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/75519-C-014_eyqhdy\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 220w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_300,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/75519-C-014_eyqhdy\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 300w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/75519-C-014_eyqhdy\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 400w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/75519-C-014_eyqhdy\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 600w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_750,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/75519-C-014_eyqhdy\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 750w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_840,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/75519-C-014_eyqhdy\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 840w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_960,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/75519-C-014_eyqhdy\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 960w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1260,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/75519-C-014_eyqhdy\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 1260w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1800,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/75519-C-014_eyqhdy\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 1800w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/75519-C-014_eyqhdy\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 2400w,\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 50vw\" alt=\"Cover story: skaiwater is post everything\"><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"img_caption\"><\/p>\n<p>    <span class=\"caption\"><br \/>\n      SKAI&#8217;S OWN pants, jewelry, and boxers<br \/>\n    <\/span><\/p>\n<p>  <span class=\"credit\"><br \/>\n      \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"media_wrapper half_gutter_left\" style=\"\">\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_760,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/75519-C-015_hbf9kl\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_220,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/75519-C-015_hbf9kl\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 220w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_300,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/75519-C-015_hbf9kl\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 300w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/75519-C-015_hbf9kl\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 400w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/75519-C-015_hbf9kl\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 600w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_750,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/75519-C-015_hbf9kl\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 750w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_840,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/75519-C-015_hbf9kl\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 840w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_960,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/75519-C-015_hbf9kl\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 960w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1260,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/75519-C-015_hbf9kl\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 1260w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1800,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/75519-C-015_hbf9kl\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 1800w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/75519-C-015_hbf9kl\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 2400w,\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 50vw\" alt=\"Cover story: skaiwater is post everything\"><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"img_caption\"><\/p>\n<p>    <span class=\"caption\"><br \/>\n      SKAI&#8217;S OWN pants, jewelry, and boxers<br \/>\n    <\/span><\/p>\n<p>  <span class=\"credit\"><br \/>\n      \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div class=\"content_block flush image\" id=\"content_block-280090\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1440,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-016A_siodjm\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_220,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-016A_siodjm\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 220w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_300,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-016A_siodjm\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 300w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-016A_siodjm\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 400w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-016A_siodjm\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 600w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_750,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-016A_siodjm\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 750w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_840,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-016A_siodjm\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 840w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_960,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-016A_siodjm\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 960w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1260,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-016A_siodjm\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 1260w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1800,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-016A_siodjm\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 1800w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-016A_siodjm\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 2400w,\" sizes=\"100vw\" alt=\"Cover story: skaiwater is post everything\"><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"img_caption\"><\/p>\n<p>    <span class=\"caption\"><br \/>\n      SKAI&#8217;S OWN pants, jewelry, and boxers<br \/>\n    <\/span><\/p>\n<p>  <span class=\"credit\"><br \/>\n      \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-280071\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<hr><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-280070\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>\n            <span class=\"lead-text\">I<\/span>f skaiwater sounds assured in their identity and artistry today, it\u2019s because their current position has been hard won. Their big break happened in 2021 when they put out the Jersey club bop \u201c#miles,\u201d which manifested skaiwater a major label deal and a trip to work with Lil Uzi Vert during the <i>Pink Tape<\/i> sessions (more on this later). skaiwater\u2019s subsequent 2022 project, <i>rave<\/i>, was released by Geffen Records. Later, the rapper switched to Capitol Records for the release of their 2024 album <i>#gigi<\/i> and 2025 EP <i>#manicinamerica<\/i>.\n          <\/p>\n<p>\n            For skai, the choice to sign with the majors was a practical one. \u201cskai had two of the biggest TikTok records of the year,\u201d Mula says of that time. \u201cYou have records that are moving online, you want a major label to put that machine behind it.\u201d\n          <\/p>\n<p>\n            But that sort of success can be a double-edged sword, especially when you\u2019re as fastidious and idiosyncratic as skaiwater. When the virality wore off and the label had to face skai\u2019s increasingly unconventional soundkit and marketing strategies \u2014 like forgoing a singles rollout to drop February\u2019s <i>wonderful<\/i> all at once with a deluge of snippet videos \u2014 it became clear the artist and label had different priorities.\n          <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div class=\"content_block flush image\" id=\"content_block-280102\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1440,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-010_a1pigy\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_220,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-010_a1pigy\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 220w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_300,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-010_a1pigy\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 300w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-010_a1pigy\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 400w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-010_a1pigy\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 600w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_750,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-010_a1pigy\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 750w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_840,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-010_a1pigy\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 840w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_960,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-010_a1pigy\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 960w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1260,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-010_a1pigy\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 1260w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1800,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-010_a1pigy\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 1800w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-010_a1pigy\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 2400w,\" sizes=\"100vw\" alt=\"Cover story: skaiwater is post everything\"><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"img_caption\"><\/p>\n<p>    <span class=\"caption\"><br \/>\n      SKAI&#8217;S OWN pants, jewelry, and boxers<br \/>\n    <\/span><\/p>\n<p>  <span class=\"credit\"><br \/>\n      \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-280072\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>\n            \u201cMajor labels really want you to have something that\u2019s moving on TikTok, which we didn\u2019t have at the moment,\u201d Mula says of the reception of <i>#gigi<\/i>. \u201cEven with \u2018rain\u2019 \u2014 that\u2019s one of skai\u2019s biggest records and it was such a huge cultural moment. But if there aren\u2019t numbers behind it, it doesn\u2019t get rated the same way in that sort of building.\u201d\n          <\/p>\n<p>\n            \u201c<i>#gigi<\/i> showed people my values,\u201d skai adds. \u201cWith [<i>wonderful<\/i>], we were aware [my label] couldn\u2019t really handle what the fuck was going on.\u201d\n          <\/p>\n<p>\n            When skaiwater left Capitol in February 2025, it was with a determination to pursue their artistic vision with or without backing from the majors. But when I ask them if artists in 2026 still need record label infrastructure, skai offers an unexpectedly diplomatic answer. \u201cI think everybody need it if you want to get anywhere in this industry,\u201d they sigh. \u201cYou need the right people if you want to get anywhere in this industry. I was blessed enough to be able to make that decision; a lot of people can&#8217;t make that decision.\u201d\n          <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div class=\"content_block flush image\" id=\"content_block-280096\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1440,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-017A_xgwooy\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_220,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-017A_xgwooy\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 220w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_300,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-017A_xgwooy\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 300w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-017A_xgwooy\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 400w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-017A_xgwooy\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 600w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_750,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-017A_xgwooy\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 750w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_840,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-017A_xgwooy\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 840w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_960,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-017A_xgwooy\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 960w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1260,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-017A_xgwooy\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 1260w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1800,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-017A_xgwooy\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 1800w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-017A_xgwooy\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 2400w,\" sizes=\"100vw\" alt=\"Cover story: skaiwater is post everything\"><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"img_caption\"><\/p>\n<p>    <span class=\"caption\"><br \/>\n      SKAI&#8217;S OWN pants, jewelry, and boxers<br \/>\n    <\/span><\/p>\n<p>  <span class=\"credit\"><br \/>\n      \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-280097\" class=\"content_block paragraph image triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1440,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-019A_wngsiv\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_220,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-019A_wngsiv\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 220w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_300,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-019A_wngsiv\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 300w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-019A_wngsiv\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 400w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-019A_wngsiv\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 600w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_750,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-019A_wngsiv\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 750w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_840,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-019A_wngsiv\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 840w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_960,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-019A_wngsiv\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 960w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1260,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-019A_wngsiv\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 1260w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1800,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-019A_wngsiv\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 1800w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-019A_wngsiv\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 2400w,\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 640px\" alt=\"Cover story: skaiwater is post everything\"><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"img_caption\"><\/p>\n<p>    <span class=\"caption\"><br \/>\n      SKAI&#8217;S OWN pants, jewelry, and boxers<br \/>\n    <\/span><\/p>\n<p>  <span class=\"credit\"><br \/>\n      \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-280073\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>\n            Their music, however, tells a more caustic story. On \u201cMARILYN,\u201d the penultimate song of <i>wonderful<\/i>, skai raps, \u201cI\u2019m over it, said fuck a major label \/ as for now, niggas still getting paid.\u201d On a separate loosie from October, \u201csay Jordan,\u201d skaiwater discusses working with Uzi back during the <i>Pink Tape<\/i> sessions.  The track reveals that not too long after those sessions, skaiwater got a label offer from Interscope but the splits were atrocious. skai had to pass.\n          <\/p>\n<p>\n            \u201cI love all my industry heads, I took the blue pill,\u201d skai raps in a tongue-in-cheek bar on that song. When I ask them to break down the <i>Matrix<\/i> metaphor, they explain, \u201cBlue pill is accepting the reality you&#8217;re in and working with it instead of going against it.\u201d skaiwater used to ineffectually flail against label practices, thinking they could \u201ccreate a new world overnight.\u201d But that experience showed them \u201cthat\u2019s not how life works,\u201d they say.\n          <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-280109\" class=\"content_block breaker triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left pull_quote\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"pull_quote\"><p><big>It\u2019s not my business how people feel about me.<br \/>\nI came in this bitch knowing what the fuck I wanted to do. <\/big><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-280074\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>\n            There\u2019s a litany of other disses sprinkled across their recent discography, from shots at other underground rappers ian and fakemink, to repeated allusions to Lil Uzi Vert and Young Thug trying to sign them, and sharpened critiques of extractive label deals and inauthentic artists. I\u2019ve recently been enthralled by a clip in which skai raps, \u201cPussy nigga from a good home thinks his advance is money [\u2026] when it all falls down, watch your back \u2018cause your team will stop botting.\u201d The music isn\u2019t just a portrait of the industry, but a guide for those willing to read between the lines.\n          <\/p>\n<p>\n            skaiwater isn\u2019t arguing for artists to secede from record labels, but there have been benefits to leaving the majors. skai\u2019s been free to release and promote their music as they like, including but not limited to releasing Playboi Carti cover art homage, pursuing K-pop collaborations with <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_new\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/i_dle_official\/\">i-dle<\/a> and <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_new\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/cortis\/?hl=en\">CORTIS<\/a>, generally dropping whatever they want on a SoundCloud, and starting up an OnlyFans (presumably SFW; I don\u2019t subscribe).\n          <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div class=\"content_block flush image\" id=\"content_block-280095\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1440,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-036_rmlyki\/skai-s-own-jewelry.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_220,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-036_rmlyki\/skai-s-own-jewelry.jpg 220w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_300,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-036_rmlyki\/skai-s-own-jewelry.jpg 300w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-036_rmlyki\/skai-s-own-jewelry.jpg 400w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-036_rmlyki\/skai-s-own-jewelry.jpg 600w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_750,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-036_rmlyki\/skai-s-own-jewelry.jpg 750w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_840,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-036_rmlyki\/skai-s-own-jewelry.jpg 840w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_960,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-036_rmlyki\/skai-s-own-jewelry.jpg 960w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1260,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-036_rmlyki\/skai-s-own-jewelry.jpg 1260w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1800,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-036_rmlyki\/skai-s-own-jewelry.jpg 1800w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-036_rmlyki\/skai-s-own-jewelry.jpg 2400w,\" sizes=\"100vw\" alt=\"Cover story: skaiwater is post everything\"><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"img_caption\"><\/p>\n<p>    <span class=\"caption\"><br \/>\n      SKAI&#8217;S OWN jewelry<br \/>\n    <\/span><\/p>\n<p>  <span class=\"credit\"><br \/>\n      \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-280076\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>\n            As eclectic as these tactics may seem, skaiwater\u2019s internet-native approach is fine tuned to the attention economy and outrage cycles that define modern life. At one point in our conversation, they characterize their gender as all-encompassing (\u201cI <i>am<\/i> the spectrum\u201d) and it reminds me of the \u201cyes-and\u201d mindset steering their career right now, balancing their anti-commercial impulses with a propensity for unforced clipfarming. But sometimes, even that can feel like sleight of hand, as if skaiwater would rather we stopped looking at them and looked more closely at things around us. \u201cAgain, the album\u2019s a commentary: I\u2019m saying it to flex, but it\u2019s not a flex at all.\u201d\n          <\/p>\n<p>\n            After an hour and a half of walking, skaiwater and I have circuitously migrated to Chicago\u2019s Field Museum, sitting side by side on the white marble steps to catch our breath as their tour manager orders an Uber Black to the venue for soundcheck. The sky has cleared since we started walking. A cloudless cerulean vista fills our field of vision.\n          <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-280077\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<hr><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-280098\" class=\"content_block breaker triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left image\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1440,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-031_szoyiw\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_220,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-031_szoyiw\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 220w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_300,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-031_szoyiw\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 300w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-031_szoyiw\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 400w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-031_szoyiw\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 600w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_750,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-031_szoyiw\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 750w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_840,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-031_szoyiw\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 840w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_960,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-031_szoyiw\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 960w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1260,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-031_szoyiw\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 1260w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1800,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-031_szoyiw\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 1800w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-031_szoyiw\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 2400w,\" sizes=\"100vw\" alt=\"Cover story: skaiwater is post everything\"><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"img_caption\"><\/p>\n<p>    <span class=\"caption\"><br \/>\n      SKAI&#8217;S OWN pants, jewelry, and boxers<br \/>\n    <\/span><\/p>\n<p>  <span class=\"credit\"><br \/>\n      \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-280078\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>\n            <span class=\"lead-text\">I<\/span>t\u2019s hard to tell if the greater points about industry, fame, and America in skaiwater\u2019s music are going over their fans\u2019 heads or not. On tour, when skaiwater performs \u201csay Jordan,\u201d their fans thunderously chant every last word: \u201c<i>Her daddy got connects, so it\u2019s cool \/ she groomed my ass she picked me up from school \/ her daddy fuck with Epstein but he never took his mask off<\/i>.\u201d skaiwater sticks the landing on this wickedly grim line as their allusions to abuse, conspiracy, and the occult cohere into a bleak view of the music industry as a microcosm for the world.\n          <\/p>\n<p>\n            On Friday evening, squirreled away in the depths of the green room, I ask skaiwater why they choose to explore these heavy topics in their music.\n          <\/p>\n<p>\n            \u201cI feel like hip-hop is one of the world\u2019s greatest versions of journalism and it made sense for me to just\u2026 talk,\u201d they say. \u201cSome of the personal situations I went through with people in my life, having to cut certain people out for those same reasons, it did resonate with some of the shit I was seeing at the time about the world. Misogyny extends to everything we consume, that\u2019s kind of what I\u2019m trying to get out with my art. Are we all going to stop talking about it? Realistically, are we going to turn the music off? \u2018Cause I 100% hear it bro. But that\u2019s kind of why I made this album.\u201d\n          <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div class=\"content_block flush image\" id=\"content_block-280099\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1440,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-001A_xcazzb\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_220,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-001A_xcazzb\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 220w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_300,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-001A_xcazzb\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 300w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-001A_xcazzb\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 400w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-001A_xcazzb\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 600w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_750,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-001A_xcazzb\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 750w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_840,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-001A_xcazzb\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 840w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_960,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-001A_xcazzb\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 960w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1260,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-001A_xcazzb\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 1260w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1800,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-001A_xcazzb\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 1800w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-001A_xcazzb\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 2400w,\" sizes=\"100vw\" alt=\"Cover story: skaiwater is post everything\"><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"img_caption\"><\/p>\n<p>    <span class=\"caption\"><br \/>\n      SKAI&#8217;S OWN pants, jewelry, and boxers<br \/>\n    <\/span><\/p>\n<p>  <span class=\"credit\"><br \/>\n      \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-280079\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>\n            Earlier that afternoon, as we\u2019d crossed through the North Rose Garden at Grant Park, skaiwater had credited the \u201cstrong women\u201d in their life for their sense of ethics. \u201c[My mum] is a high-vibrating person \u2014 all the women in my life, to be honest,\u201d they said. \u201cI picked up on the morals of that, the way of life through that. She taught me a lot about moving with love.\u201d Remembering that moment now, I wondered how they reconcile their personal code with working with people like Uzi and Carti, commercially successful artists with flagrant allegations.\n          <\/p>\n<p>\n            \u201cWhether we know it or not, there\u2019s places where we\u2019re complacent and a lot of abuse we don\u2019t know about. Especially in the music industry,\u201d skaiwater says. \u201cUnfortunately, as consumers, we get what we ask for \u2014 and we glorify what we ask for as a collective.\u201d\n          <\/p>\n<p>\n            For some, these feminist concerns will fall flat when juxtaposed with some of skai\u2019s more flagrantly sexual lyrics. But I don\u2019t see skaiwater\u2019s beliefs as hypocritical. Instead, these contradictions underscore how our lofty ideals can quickly deflate under the pressure of reality, an unflinching snapshot of what it takes to actually live in the world around us.\n          <\/p>\n<p>\n            \u201cI didn\u2019t lie on the album at all,\u201d skai says. \u201cThe life I live\u2026 it\u2019s like <i>bro, this industry was here before any of us<\/i>. I just feel like I\u2019m documenting the state of the world.\u201d\n          <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-280100\" class=\"content_block breaker triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left image\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1440,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-029_hhbvlf\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_220,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-029_hhbvlf\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 220w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_300,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-029_hhbvlf\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 300w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-029_hhbvlf\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 400w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-029_hhbvlf\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 600w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_750,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-029_hhbvlf\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 750w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_840,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-029_hhbvlf\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 840w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_960,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-029_hhbvlf\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 960w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1260,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-029_hhbvlf\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 1260w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1800,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-029_hhbvlf\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 1800w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-029_hhbvlf\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 2400w,\" sizes=\"100vw\" alt=\"Cover story: skaiwater is post everything\"><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"img_caption\"><\/p>\n<p>    <span class=\"caption\"><br \/>\n      SKAI&#8217;S OWN pants, jewelry, and boxers<br \/>\n    <\/span><\/p>\n<p>  <span class=\"credit\"><br \/>\n      \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div class=\"content_block flush image\" id=\"content_block-280082\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1440,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-027_encwnp\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_220,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-027_encwnp\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 220w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_300,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-027_encwnp\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 300w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-027_encwnp\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 400w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-027_encwnp\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 600w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_750,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-027_encwnp\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 750w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_840,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-027_encwnp\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 840w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_960,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-027_encwnp\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 960w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1260,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-027_encwnp\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 1260w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1800,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-027_encwnp\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 1800w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/75519-C-027_encwnp\/skai-s-own-pants-jewelry-and-boxers.jpg 2400w,\" sizes=\"100vw\" alt=\"Cover story: skaiwater is post everything\"><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"img_caption\"><\/p>\n<p>    <span class=\"caption\"><br \/>\n      SKAI&#8217;S OWN pants, jewelry, and boxers<br \/>\n    <\/span><\/p>\n<p>  <span class=\"credit\"><br \/>\n      \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-280110\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<hr><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-280080\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>\n            <i>Additional credits:<br \/>\n          <\/i><\/p>\n<p>\n            Make up by Jazzmin Oddie<br \/>Lighting assist by @_samfrank<br \/>Photo assist by @veilcastles<br \/>Styling assist by Goyo\n          <\/p>\n<p>\n            On the cover: VALENTINO pants, BALENCIAGA shoes (skai&#8217;s own), CUSTOM cuffs, VIVIENNE WESTWOOD watch\n          <\/p>\n<p>\n            \n          <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"author\">\n    <span><br \/>\n      By <span class=\"credit_name\">Vivian Medithi<\/span><br \/>\n  <\/span><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"\/\/www.tiktok.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" target=\"_blank\" >Social Media category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thefader.com\/2026\/05\/05\/skaiwater-fader-cover-story-may-2026\" target=\"_blank\" >Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>skaiwater is post everything The U.K. rapper\u2019s madcap vision is too big for the industry to handle. Now independent, the 25-year-old is documenting the state of the world, one fucked up song at a time. By Vivian Medithi Photographer Nate Gotsis Fashion by Christine Vuong Shop skaiwater\u2019s FADER Cover poster. Editor\u2019s note: skaiwater is nonbinary&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":726044,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/c_limit,w_1024\/c_crop,h_481,w_924,x_100,y_82,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/75519-C-018_nvdatw\/75519-C-018_nvdatw.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[104797,70532,150567],"class_list":["post-726043","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-mediaa","tag-cover-story","tag-hip-hop","tag-skaiwater"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/726043","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=726043"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/726043\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/726044"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=726043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=726043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=726043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}