Watch: fakemink on lust, obsessive fans and his new album, Terrified

For the casual observer, fakemink might look like an overnight success: from niche internet celebrity to major festival slots, famous fans (including Drake, Frank Ocean and Timothée Chalamet) and walking Gucci’s AW26 show, all within the space of a year or so. But mink – real name Vincenzo Camille – rejects that narrative. “There’s nothing quick about my rise; I’ve been making music for a long time,” the rapper says in our new video, filmed while shooting his Dazed cover story.

Swinging on a hanging chair, fakemink goes deep into his background and process as an artist, revealing the inspiration behind his stage name, his early musical influences, the films he returns to again and again, and the meaning behind Terrified, the title of his upcoming album ( “it’s this extreme terror running through your veins, going like 100 miles an hour when you’re driving but you feel so good that you might crash [and] that doesn’t even matter.”) There’s also plenty of that characteristic fakemink swagger: “I’m the best at what I do, I’m better than everyone in the scene,” he announces, explaining why Drake invited him to appear at Wireless festival.

As part of a new wave of young, internet-native Gen Z artists, fakemink reflects on the role that social media has played in his life and career. “I’ve definitely been raised by Instagram; there’s probably not a corner of the internet I haven’t seen,” he says. One side effect of his success is the intense, at times parasocial attention which he now attracts. “I have all these fans telling me they’re in love with me, but that’s really crazy, cause they don’t know me. They’re just in love with the idea of me,” he says. “You shouldn’t say I love you so willy nilly.”

It’s not all serious, though. Fakemink also shows a more playful side, wielding a wooden sword like a medieval knight and enjoying a tender embrace with a huge, fluffy white dog. Watch all this and more in the video above.