9 things we learned in skaiwater’s FADER cover story

British rapper skaiwater is The FADER's latest cover star. The FADER's Vivian Medithi interviewed them in Chicago, where they were in town for a quintessentially riotous, small cap show. The FADER uncovered a lot of deep lore about the quixotic artist, and gained new insight into everything from their independent streak, to their nonbinary identity, to their disparate musical influences.

See below for some key takeaways from The FADER's deep dive cover story with skaiwater.

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Their 2026 "Wonderful" tour largely consisted of smaller, more intimate rooms (even as they could play bigger spots). The choice was partially inspired of seeing seeing British songstress beabadoobee play at a small club back in 2021.

skaiwater calls their music "nepo baby music," because they have granted themselves permission to do whatever they want, much like the privileged children of the elite. "“In the nepotism sense, I’m my own father, you feel me?” they say. “I’m the son of what I’ve done before.”

skaiwater connects their decision to go independent after releasing music with a major label (Captiol Records) with their upbringing. "'I was raised Christian and kind of Black Panther-ish, so I was told how to try and protect myself in the music industry,” they say. “Being in the industry, I was still trying to attain the accolades of my past idols, which is not a way to live.”

In a surprising cameo, former Vanderpump Rules cast member Jo Wenberg showed up to skaiwater's show, and told Medithi after that she was "blown away by skai’s 'punk' energy, comparing it to a recent Taking Back Sunday concert."

skai shared that their mom's love for Ye was an early influence on their music. "That’s why I love Kanye so much. I really am a mummy’s boy," they say. Their father is also a producer and they recall him flipping “Never Gonna Let You Go” by Blackstreet while chopping up beats in their kitchen.

They began sharing their music on the storied Kanye To The internet forum, the same place where Brockhampton first convened. They then linked up with fellow rising musicians (like Lil Nas X) on Twitter group chats.

“He’s been like an angel for me. He’s guided me spiritually a lot when I’ve been lost,” skaiwater says of Lil Nas X. “Outside of music, outside of career, outside of looking for anything in the material world.”

"There’s a litany of other disses sprinkled across their recent discography," writes Medithi. "From shots at ian and fakemink to repeated allusions to Lil Uzi Vert and Young Thug trying to sign them ('SKINS'), sharpened critiques of extractive label deals and inauthentic artists. 'It’s cis niggas baitin’ my swag on the net,' they spit on November SoundCloud exclusive 'dubai *' before calling out Nine Vicious and Glo by name."

Medithi reports that skai's identification as nonbinary came after a process of finding the language that suited their experience. “Growing up where I grew up, especially around a lot of Jamaican people, lower class people in that mindset — in that specific place, it's kind of hard to get the right information about certain shit,” they say. “I spent a lot of my life just questioning everything; the label is only an answer to the question I had. There’s no escaping labels, so you might as well find one that you like.”