American musician Fetish has become a rising star in the past few years, coming off of appearances in Doja Cat’s “Agora Hills” music video, and Doechii’s 2024 mixtape “Alligator Bites Never Heal,” all while finishing and releasing their debut full-length project “KLUBFETISH.” Additionally, she has built up a distinct social media presence, crafting unique visuals for the project and collaborating with industry titans Chase Icon and Baby Tate, placing Fetish as an artist to watch in 2024.

Elwen Trost-Bailey: So, how exactly would you describe “KLUBFETISH,” and what does it mean to you?

Fetish: “KLUBFETISH” is a blend of pop, rap, and early club music making it overall an experimental sound. It has melodic elements, early 2000s Jersey club beats and is also heavily influenced by traditional Atlanta rap. 

To me, “KLUBFETISH” is a rollercoaster of emotions. I made the tape unintentionally, but when I sequenced it, I realized that it’s a reflection of my life, you feel like a bad b**** when you’re listening to it, so it’s almost as if you’re going out with your girls, but there’s also that section in the middle of the tape that brings you back to reality and is vulnerable. I think this tape is a direct reflection of the highs and lows of life, but specifically in the party scene, which I am also heavily influenced by.

E: Let’s talk about “London Tipton” — that’s one of my favorite songs of yours, and I think it encapsulates sapphic friendships so well. What inspired you to write it?

F: I’m glad you love “London Tipton,” I think it’s definitely one of my favorites too. What’s funny about that song is it took me like 45 minutes to an hour to make, so that was probably the quickest song I made on the tape. But what inspired me to make it: I was on FaceTime with one of my mutuals on Instagram. She’s from London, and I had  a really big crush on her. She told me, “The first order of business when you get to London is you have to make a British song. The market is wide open for British artists.” 

So I was like, “You know what? I don’t have to wait ’til I get to London to do a British song, I’m literally about to do it right now.” And I wrote it about her because I had a crush on her and then she told me she had a boyfriend, and I was like, “Oh, that’s fine, I can see us being friends anyway.” And that’s how it came about.

E: “Botched” featuring Chase Icon is currently the most streamed track on “KLUBFETISH.” What was the inspiration behind the track, and how did Chase come to appear on the track? 

F: So, actually, whenever I first learned how to record myself on Pro Tools, which was pretty recently, that was one of the first songs I recorded myself doing. I really didn’t imagine anyone else on the track at first, but the song was kind of short and did need another verse. I was just like scrolling on TikTok, and I heard Chase’s song, and I really liked it so I clicked on her profile and saw she was following me. I followed her back, and I DMed her, and I was like, “Hey, I’ll be in LA on these dates, let’s get in the studio.” She literally wrote that verse in like 30 minutes, I swear, and we were done with it in, like, an hour. A week later, I was like, “Hey, I really wanna drop this song, I’ll come back to LA and we can shoot a music video for it.” I love Chase, she’s so sweet and talented.

E: Now, on “Botched,” Chase takes some serious digs at Brooke Candy. Have you interacted with Brooke, and what’s your opinion on her?

F: I honestly don’t have anything good to say about her, and I don’t wanna give her any more clout than we’ve already given her. And you can write that down. 

E: On the note of features, I want to briefly mention your feature on Doechii’s stellar “Alligator Bites Never Heal.” What was working with Doechii like? 

F: Yeah, so that was actually crazy because I think I had like 2 thousand monthly listeners when she hit me up, and she hit me up and was like “Hey I’m in New York.” I guess she was under the impression that I’m New York-based. She was like “Come to the studio, let’s see what we can do.” That was last year, this time last year actually, and we got in like two or three sessions between December and August of this year, and she asked me if she could put “GTFO” on her tape. 

At the time, I didn’t know I was the only feature on her tape, so that was a surprise to me. I didn’t know until she dropped it, so that was really cool. Doechii is super-talented and sweet and down to earth, and I am just so grateful for her because she really taught me a lot through our working process, and she also opened a lot of doors for me.

E: What led you to start doing music? 

F: I’ve always done music my whole life. I did talent shows and stuff in elementary, middle and high school. I’ve always sang, but I never really took it seriously until I took a trip to LA, and got in somebody’s studio, posted it online, and got a really good reaction, so I just never stopped. Also, one of my past lovers really inspired me.

E: I think on “Miss American Dream,” the use of the “American Dream” concept and Americana to juxtapose the lyricism on the track was a really interesting decision. What led you to reference America, and what are your thoughts on it?

F: I think there is something so beautiful about old America, and I don’t think we use that terminology anymore, like “Miss American Dream” because there’s something so dark and twisted about America right now, but I also think that’s beautiful. So, I just think it’s cool wordplay, like growing up, I watched a lot of beauty pageants, things like that, movies like “Grease,” like very American, all-American things. I think I liked to just tie that into who I am now, but, like I said, I am referencing older America. I do like how there is something so dark about new America.

E: I also want to talk about “I loved you more” — it sticks out as a more vulnerable, honest track in an album like “KLUBFETISH.” What was the experience of writing and creating it like?

F: I think that “I loved you more” really stemmed from something that I experienced in my last relationship, and honestly I wasn’t able to translate my emotions into music regarding that heartbreak for a really long time. I think that it was really hard for me to get out, but I think that when it did come out, it came more naturally. It was really fun making that song, but it was also, like, sad, having to put my emotions into words, and then putting it into my words, and then putting it into my music. 

I feel like being vulnerable is really difficult, so I salute artists who can do that so naturally because that was a really hard song for me to make, but it was really beautiful. I didn’t have any engineers in there. I got the beat from YouTube, so it was just like me isolating myself and really, you know, getting that out, and purging out. I honestly had no plans on releasing that song, so I’m glad that I was able to share it. And, I didn’t really write most of it — I freestyled most of it. I think I was just really, really, really sad, and disappointed, and let down, and I needed to get it out. I ended up really liking it, so I showed it to my team, and they liked it as well. 

It wasn’t supposed to go on “KLUBFETISH,” it was originally gonna be a single, but we liked the juxtaposition it added to the tape.

E: What is your favorite song on “KLUBFETISH,” and what experiences in your life inspired it?

F: Honestly it’s hard for me to say, but a few of my favorites — I really like “Tip sticky.” I feel like it has such a Kreayshawn-like nostalgic, early-2000s kind of vibe to it, but the wordplay is also really wild. I also love the catchy hook on it. 

I love “Honest,” I think is super-underrated, another one of my vulnerable songs. I think I like that one because I was writing from another person’s perspective, which was a new experience for me. And then probably “London Tipton” because it was just so quick, and I didn’t really have to think too much, and that was pretty recent.