Twenty-one year old Gabrielle, or TheBabeGabe, always knew she wanted to be a performer. Born and raised in Raytown, a small suburb at the outskirts of Kansas City, she recalls singing songs on her dad’s microphone as a kid and creating dance routines to her favourite tracks with dreams of being a producer or DJ when she grew up. But it wasn’t until her freshman year in highschool when she went to her first concert and saw Tyler, The Creator, that she decided she wanted to make music. “When I left that concert I remember feeling so inspired and thinking ‘I want my life to be like his.’” Now part of the band BLACKSTARKIDS, Gabe is on her way to making that dream a reality.
After asking her mum for turntables and a laptop one Christmas, Gabe met her bandmate Ty during high school—”he told me I should get on songs so I did”—and from there she began writing to SoundCloud beats and music her friends would send her. Later she met Deiondre, and together the three formed the band, BLACKSTARKIDS. Inspired by artists such as Blood Orange, Weezer, A Tribe Called Quest, Beastie Boys, Toro y Moi, NERD and Roy Blair, the band’s sound is unique in its magical mix of hip-hop and indie, seamlessly combining sounds and creating nostalgically 90s tracks with a y2k and modern twist.
Admittedly, lockdown initially made it hard for Gabe to create. “I personally get really inspired whenever I’m outside, around people, and exploring my city,” she says, “so when that stopped I got in a funk for a little while and it was sort of hard for me to write songs.” But despite this, she and her band made 2020 their year, being signed to Dirty Hit and releasing two albums, SURF and Whatever, Man. Gabe has future plans of moving in with her bandmates and hopefully going on tour, but most importantly, she can’t wait to be able to work on music everyday with the people she loves. With three albums already under their belt, Gabe and her band show no sign of slowing down soon.
Sheesh Magazine chatted with Gabe about herself and BLACKSTARKIDS, music inspirations, creativity and individuality, and more.
Q: What or who is your biggest inspiration and motivation behind your music?
GABE: My dad used to be a part of a rap group when he was younger and he played a lot of instruments. He tried to teach me guitar but eventually I gave up on that. One of my biggest regrets ever. My dad is definitely one of my biggest inspirations especially when growing up. I also look up to Tyler, The Creator, Issa Rae, Deaton Chris Anthony, Childish Gambino, and so many more. I can honestly go on and on about how many people inspire me but I don’t think there’s a piece of paper long enough.
Q: How did the band come about?
GABE: I met Ty my junior year of high school and I eventually met Deiondre through him. Ty always wanted to start a band similar to the one in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. Me and Deiondre were the perfect fit so we went ahead and gave it a shot. After we dropped ‘Let’s Play Sports’ we realized how much we have in common and how much we enjoyed making music with each other. That’s when we decided we should keep on making music and see where it goes.
Q: Who is your dream artist to collab with?
GABE: My dream artist collab would be to work with Pharrell. I would love for him to produce a project for me because he is just so insanely talented. Pharrell was basically my childhood growing up. Everytime I turned on the TV or the radio I would hear a song he was either on or produced. It would be such an honor to work with him.
Q: What’s BLACKSTARKIDS all about?
GABE: We want to inspire people, especially the ones that look like us, to be yourself no matter what. Be who you are and follow through with your dreams. We know what it feels like to be the outcast so we just want to create for the people who feel the same as us. We want to show it’s okay to be different in this world.
Q: What does being creative and the art that you create mean to you?
GABE: Being creative to me is being able to express your most vulnerable self. Having the ability to present whatever you do to a group of people and not caring what they think. Whenever I create something it’s always something personal or something that reminds of a moment in my life. I love being able to put that in any art form I choose and showing it to the world.
Q: How does it feel to be a woman in the music industry?
GABE: Being a woman in the industry can be very intimidating. You’re always wondering if you’re being taken seriously enough by people. My band mates do a really good job of making me feel heard and so do the people at Dirty Hit.
Q: Do you think enough is being done to showcase the work of young creatives?
GABE: I will say yes and no to this. I think there can always be improvements to things especially in the music industry. But I also feel like this year young creatives have truly been able to stand in the spotlight. I’ve discovered so many new and fresh artists that are so similar to me. It feels good to know there are young adults in the same boat as you.
Q: How are you coping with life during a pandemic?
GABE: The pandemic was really hard in the beginning. I was depressed and experiencing a lot of anxiety because I didn’t understand fully what was going to happen to the world. Being around my bandmates and finishing our album helped me out a lot. I feel way better now after all these months of being able to adjust to the world. Walking my neighborhood and sewing helped me de-stress all the time. Also, I’ve been trying to learn piano and that’s going really well. I’m just taking this time to learn and get better at the things that I love.
Q: Can you talk a little about your new album Whatever, Man?
GABE: When we started Whatever, Man, we were just coming off SURF era and had done two live shows. We were so happy and excited because we had so much planned to do this summer, but when the pandemic hit that all stopped and we decided to finish working on Whatever, Man. We were really inspired by the 2000s at the time. We wanted to create something that our childhood self would really enjoy and fall in love with. My favorite track from the album is definitely ‘Friendship.’ That song gives me the warmest feeling whenever I listen to it and just reminds me of how thankful I am for the people in my life. It’s definitely one of the songs I can’t wait to perform live in front of an audience.
Q: What music have you been listening to recently?
GABE: I’ve been listening to a lot of Daft Punk lately, specifically their album Discovery. I’m really big on electronic music so they’re also one of my biggest inspirations. I’ve also been listening to Sam Truth a lot, Jean Dawson, and Lenny Kravitz. I’m pretty sure I played ‘Triple Double’ by Jean Dawson for like a month straight. That song is so good and one of my favorite tracks to drive to.
Q: How does music impact your life on a daily basis?
GABE: I listen to music EVERYDAY and not because I have to, it’s because I truly do enjoy it. Music has always been there for me since before I can even remember. I love listening to lyrics and beats and just being able to relate to someone through something they created. Music is something that’s so special to me and really gets me through the day. It’s so scary sometimes being an artist, just because you are putting yourself out there for people to judge. Like something that’s really deep and meaningful to you might not be to someone else. I just take it as ‘it is what it is’ because I’ll always have that personal connection to whatever I create that the viewer or listener won’t have. For the most part, everyone loves what we create so that makes me feel really good.
Q: What have you been up to recently?
GABE: I’ve been working on more music with the band but also I’m working on starting my own clothing line. Sketching out ideas and watching a lot of Netflix.
Q: What would you like to see more of in the creative and music industry?
GABE: I would like to see more women of color in the spotlight and getting the recognition they deserve. I would like to also see more black bands like us hopefully in the future.
Anything else so we don’t leave anything unsaid?
GABE: I would like to say thank you for this interview and hope you stay safe. Also GO STREAM WHATEVER, MAN!
Make sure to follow Gabe and BLACKSTARKIDS on Instagram, and don’t forget to check the group out on Spotify.
Read interviews with other artists like Sabrina Fuentes and Public library Commute next.
