Meet Skaiwater, the rapper and producer who caught Lil Nas X's attention

Last week, Skaiwater released the single and music video for 'light!', which features none other than Lil Nas X. The 23-year-old rising rapper-producer says that securing a collaboration with one of the biggest artists in the world was a “surreal moment.” Naturally, the two met online. “I've been in a lot of music communities, so it's like you cross paths with a lot of people, but I think we just stayed in tune,” explains Skaiwater. “I guess we have similar understanding of things. We think in similar ways.”

Indeed, “light!” is exactly the kind of song you'd expect Lil Nas X to perform: an ode to self-love and not letting a toxic ex get into your headspace. “I just had a lightbulb,” Skaiwater wails on the song's chorus. “Tryin' to break the cycle/Yeah, keep up with that group shit/Yeah, I'm sure that bitch is a good dude.” Produced by 9lives, the track is one of the few Skaiwater tracks that wasn't self-produced. “We built it in the room, so I gave him a brief of what I wanted and he just executed it his way,” explains Skaiwater. “But I had an idea. It was the last idea of ​​the session. It was just the idea I had for a while. I wanted to get a reference from Pink Friday-era Nicki Minaj, Kid Ink, DJ Mustard-type beats.”

This sound is increasingly prevalent on TikTok as Gen Z and Gen Alpha begin to mine the recent past for inspiration. An earlier version of the track, without Lil Nas X's verse, made the rounds on the app earlier this year, and this latest cut is poised to reach a whole new audience. “I feel like over the years, we've tried to work on a lot of music, but it never really lines up perfectly. I think that was the first time it made sense for both of us,” Skaiwater continues. “Honestly, he stayed with me for so long, he stayed so long, he believed in the dream before I even had it in my head. It was definitely a surreal moment.”

Skaiwater hails from Nottingham, a city about two hours away from London. Like most musicians their age, they started out making songs in their bedroom and uploading them to SoundCloud. “In the last year and a half, I think I've just learned more about living than creating,” Skaiwater explains of the song's origins. “So that's the feeling I had when I was first creating it, I was just making sure I was in control of what I was doing, just in control of how I presented myself where I forgot how to present myself to the world for a second.”

Skai is non-binary and they say a large part of the inspiration behind the “light!” was coming to some hard realizations about the music industry. “I think it was more of having an epiphany. I think a lot of me going into this game had to learn big lessons instead of gradually learning what you're supposed to do,” they explain. “Well, I think I had a really heavy epiphany about where I needed to go next, or how I needed to move to change my life so that I was really all the way in instead of on the fence, with one foot in, one step out, as an artist.”

Taking the reins did not come without misunderstandings. “I think it's very easy for your message to be misinterpreted if it's not in your hands. So I think, really, I've been more into that lately, being more open and expressive with what I'm doing,” Skaiwater continues.

Skaiwater recently relocated to Los Angeles, a move they say is as practical as it is personal. For one, many of their early releases got the most attention in the United States. “For a lot of my first big moments, I couldn't even see the music connecting. It was more to see it through the internet. So I feel like I had to take that leap,” they explain. “But I also feel that, in terms of identity, a lot was pushing me away from home. I come from a very hood, very Jamaican, so it's just different. I think anything goes in Los Angeles. I didn't really feel too alien every day trying to make this music.”

However, Skaiwater says that being an openly non-binary artist has made them learn to be more intentional with their own messages. “Being an artist, especially a black artist, in rap, everything is very simple. The expectations for you are very clear,” they explain. “But I think as a non-binary artist in more of an alternative space, it's very new. There is less box to fit, but it also leaves more room for mishandling a message. Before it was just me at home. I didn't think it was as important as I realized it was later.”

Now, Skaiwater says, it's time for them to take the reins of their own expression, which also means dropping a lot more music. “I just flood the streets and try not to let people stop me.”