VINCINT is a multi-layered representation of our time and age. While displaying their luxurious yet sensible presence, the artist’s platforms are clearly meant to comport bold statements. From fashion to personal and political convictions, VINCENT is not afraid to portray exactly what feels the most genuine and honest to their sentiments. After an avant-garde photoshoot for VULKAN magazine, the unique performer and I talked about their first steps in music, the experience as a Berkeley School Of Music alumni, their 2024 music project (an ongoing act divided into two parts), and ambitions for the future in terms of artistic career, personal growth, and also (and why not?), for their love life.
You’ve been a singer since you were 5 years old, having your first contact with this art form through gospel music. How was your process of becoming interested in pop musicality?
Well, my dad was a gospel singer. So that was my first intro into music. I learned so much from gospel because it’s based on rhythm. And it kind of branched out from there because pretty much every form of music kind of stems from a gospel background. I love pop music. I love listening to pop divas. Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Beyoncé, Robyn. And it really, it made everything make sense in my mind of what I wanted to sound like, because it wasn’t what my parents listened to, which I loved but it didn’t feel right for my voice, but it felt like I had a home in pop music; It felt like that was a place that I was supposed to be.
As a Berkley School of Music alumni, how did the art school experience change how you perceive yourself as a musician/performer?
I think going to Berkeley was transformative because when I arrived, I only thought about being a singer and not about being a pop star. Or being a star in general. It was more so about learning the music and learning how to become a very in-tune musician. But being at
Berkeley, I was introduced to so many different artists who had such knowledge about how
they wanted the world to perceive them, and how they wanted the world to hear them. And it really set a precedent for me of what I could do with my own art and my own music. It made me think bigger. And so Berkeley was one of the best experiences that I could have had when it came to becoming an artist.
You display bold, nonconformist fashion statements in your public appearances. Can you name some of your style influences?
I am a big Thrifter, if that makes sense. I like to just pull from different fashion looks
that I’ve seen in magazines. I’m really inspired by just New Age artists who make fashion feel like it should be fun. Tanner Fletcher is a duel who makes incredible pieces of art. I’m an Alexander McQueen fan and I love what he and his entire company have done. And, obviously, he’s gone but I just love them so much. I make sure that whatever I wear it feels honest to how
I’m feeling at the moment. And in my life and so I like to feel otherworldly when I put on clothes, it should feel like you’re having an experience all the time.
What’s the biggest difference between Vincint, the stage persona and the everyday you?
Oh, okay. That’s an easy one! Everyday me is very, very, very lazy. And if I could, I would
sit around all day eating doughnuts and watching television and being just the most boring person in the world. But when I’m on stage, I become someone else. Someone I think, is very much inside of my mind, but doesn’t live in my everyday life. Like I’m not walking around performing full out all the time. But when I step on stage, it’s like an electric being takes over my body and it’s where I’m supposed to be for the next hour or so. And everything makes sense.
You’ve been openly gay from the age of 16 and also publicly came out as a non-binary person last year. What do you think are the biggest changes in how queer people are received by the industry now and then?
I think, well, obviously just being accepted at all, being even spoken about is a huge turn in history for our community. And also what it looks like for us, because we weren’t even allowed in some rooms; The acknowledgement of our existence wasn’t even happening when it came to being non binary or being trans or being gender nonconforming. So, that is a huge change. I also think it’s because we have more platforms now to really speak our own truth and, therefore, we don’t have to wait for the platform to be given to us. Like there are TikToks, there are Instagrams here and YouTubes. There’s just so many different platforms and vehicles to get your story out there. And so it’s wildly different because now is the age of the reveal and who we are and how we can say it is in our hands. And I think that’s a powerful tool.
This has been an intense year for you artistically since you’re coming from a sequence of three singles, including features with Adam Lambert and Betty Who, which will be launched this very week. Is there even more to come for the second semester of 2024?
Yeah, it’s been a crazy year. And it’s going to be a lot crazier. This is only the first half of a two part project that I’m releasing. And I wanted intentionally for the summer to be fun and to be light and to be easy. The second half of this project is more heartfelt, still rhythmic, still alive and very, very bright, but I guess that’s the wrong word. Not bright… The second half of this album is very free and open. And so it’s gonna be a busy year for sure. There’s a lot more songs coming, a lot more content and a lot more stories to be told.
What are some of the personal and artistic goals you’re still yet to achieve?
I want to play! I played some of the big festivals. I’ve played Governors Ball, and I’ve played Coachella. I think, for me, I’d like to do it on a bigger scale. I was there as a pop up artist in different ways. But I want to be there and play a show and see a massive crowd and have them sing my songs back to me. I want to play Glastonbury, I want to get nominated for some things.
I don’t even have to win, I just want to be in the running, you know? And so, artistically, my goals are to broaden my fan base and to have more people kind of fall into the fold of
what we’re doing over here and how we have dedicated ourselves to being open and honest with ourselves. And I hope that my music reaches more people. These are kind of my artistic goals.
I think personally, I’d like to fall in love. That’d be nice. Personally, I’d like to keep going to therapy because it’s been really really great for me and it’s helping me a lot. And so I think, personally, more important than anything I’d like to keep liking myself because I think, in my life, at this current juncture I’m very happy with who I am and how I feel about my body and my mind and my soul. And so I hope to stay here or even excel into a better place where I can be even happier with who I am.
VINCINT @vincint
Photography Jen Rosenstein @jenrosenstein
Styling Michael Fusco @mikeystyles
Grooming Dee Daly at Opus Beauty using M.A.C @deedaly1
Interview Anna Dória @annadoria._
Production + Location Isabela Costa @isa.chromatic @bellomediagroup x @maisonpriveepr_la
