In many ways, the UK Ug scene is the first true Gen Z musical movement. With most of its members barely old enough to drink in the States, the British scene is united less by a shared sound than it is by shared online spaces – and with this comes a gargantuan digital footprint to unpack.

Perhaps the biggest example of this is UK Ug paragon and Dazed cover star fakemink, whose astronomical rise over the last two years has been partially defined by his mastery of social media. “Social media is really just a lie; everyone’s just sharing their best highlights,” fakemink told Dazed. “But, if that’s the case, then I’ll use it to my advantage. I’m going to design how I’m portrayed on social media to the point that I’m a superstar.”

Still, this doesn’t mean that his social media presence is polished to perfection. In his countless livestreams over the last few years, fakemink has (both intentionally and otherwise) created countless memorable moments that have since been immortalised in fan re-uploads. While his musical persona might seem unapproachable and sometimes vulgar, these videos paint a strikingly relatable picture of fakemink: a young man who is friend to wild animals and disgruntled neighbours alike.

Below, we unpack five of our favourite moments from fakemink’s online archive. 

POKÉMON X AND Y

We’ve chosen not to include a link to fakemink’s old Pokémon Instagram fanpage, to honour his rule that access is only allowed to “diehard fans”. Still, our spring 2026 issue, mink speaks at length about his love for the Japanese animated franchise, and, in particular, the generation six games Pokémon X and Y.

In an unpublished section of the interview, fakemink also spoke about his obsession with ‘shiny hunting’ in the video games (for the uninitiated, shiny hunting is an advanced Pokémon technique which involves exploiting the game’s code to increase the chances of encountering a rare, alternative colour variation of a Pokémon, dubbed a ‘shiny’). While this might seem a surprising hobby for an international rap star, such are the times that we’re living in. All of the UK Ug scene have spent their entire lives around technology and, if anything, mink’s mastery of shiny hunting provides important context on how he came to be a Fruity Loops savant at such a young age. 

BOSS BABY

If you thought fakemink’s music had an issue with audio clipping, we dare you to watch this video at full volume. In a video which resurfaced late last year, a pre-pubescent fakemink appears in his YouTuber bag, instructing his fans to “like and subscribe” before prank calling ‘the Boss Baby’, the titular character from Alec Baldwin‘s 2017 children’s movie of the same name. This video also highlights just how young fakemink actually is: in 2017, he would only have been around 12 or 13 years old. 

“I’M JUST WALKING, MAN!”

This one regularly does the rounds on the fanpage circuit. Livestreaming himself while walking through Essex in early 2025, fakemink accidentally captures himself being hit by a reckless driver. While it’s hard to discern exactly what he was talking about – fakemink only manages to say “I don’t mean to be rude, I understand but…” before the fateful incident occurred – he gets extra points for handling the situation with neither an expletive nor aggression. He simply exclaims “Yo!”, points out to the driver that he was “just walking”, and then returns to his online audience to explain what had happened: “I just got hit by a car.” 

THE PIGEON INCIDENT 🐦

We’ve watched this countless times in the office and still can’t work out quite what’s going on. In another livestream early last year, fakemink discusses something to do with British rapper Slowthai when a pigeon lands on his head. Mink, who is sitting indoors, seems strangely unfazed, simply repeating his previous question: “What does this have to do with Slowthai?”

How did the pigeon get inside? Why is fakemink so calm about it? WHY DOESN’T THE PIGEON FLY AWAY? Still, we can’t help but think that this reflects well on fakemink – he’s such a chill and pure soul that even animals feel comfortable around him. 🙏

“YES. I UNDERSTAND 😑” 

fakemink struck livestream gold yet again in January of this year when, while celebrating the release of his latest EP, The Boy Who Cried Terrified, on Instagram live, a neighbour knocked on his door to ask him to turn the music down. “I’ve got work in the morning, and I’ve got three kids at home!” the neighbour shouts while mink simply nods with a deadpan energy that can only be described as 😑. The moment was particularly significant given that the first track of the new EP is literally called “Blow the Speaker”. Still, to his credit, mink did eventually turn the music down.