Introducing The Dazzling Indie Three-Piece… BLACKSTARKIDS

Backed by passionate lyricism and a genre hybrid sound, BLACKSTARKIDS is a music trio that’s on route to take over the music sphere. Deoindre, tyfaizon and The Babe Gabe first made waves with their critically acclaimed “black coming of age trilogy”, which featured their immersive projects Let’s Play Sports, Surf and Whatever, Man. The three-piece release incorporated each of the member’s unique musical influences that included Toro Y Moi, N*E*R*D, Smashing Pumpkins, and Weezer. Since dropping the trilogy, the trio has created their own signature indie-pop sound that spreads across generations. Fast forward to 2021 and BLACKSTARKIDS are continuing their upward trajectory with their debut full-length album Puppies Forever. Described as “bold, colourful and expressive”, the 12-track record is an unapologetic love letter to the trio’s youth. We were able to chat with the effortlessly cool Deoindre, tyfaizon and The Babe Gabe about Puppies Forever, their standout sound, their origin story and so much more. Read their fantastic interview below.

Thanks for sitting down with us BLACKSTARKIDS! How’s it going? 

It’s going amazing, we’re on tour with Beabadoobee and Christian Leave and it’s been a great experience we love seeing all the different cities.

First off congratulations on releasing your latest project Puppies Forever. Absolutely fantastic! How does it feel to finally have it out in the world?

Thank you so much, it feels refreshing to have it out in the world and see people react to it, we hope we can continue to spread it. 

What makes this record such a standout is its production. You can definitely hear an array of genres on each track. Can you take us through the creative process for the album? What type of sound did you want fans to hear?

We always get together in a room and listen to music and see what moves us, and then we try to bring our own ideas to life with the sounds that feel good to us that day. We’re very big on synths and colorful sounds and we hope listeners can pick up on that. 

The albums lyrical content is also incredible. Each track feels like a distinct story and there’s a feeling of rebellion throughout the record. What was the writing journey like for the project? What type of messages or themes did want to get across?

We wanted to address a lot of things that we deal with in everyday life from the good stuff to the bad stuff, that’s why songs like REVOLT SYNDROME or ALL COPS ARE BASTARDS kinda cover our feelings on some political things that center around our identity, and songs like PISS DRUNK KIDS and SO SWEET! kinda capture what we’re experiencing as a young friend group and everything in between. 

Let’s take it back to the beginning for a moment. How did BLACKSTARKIDS come to be? What’s the origin story behind the group?

We all went to High School together, and we each were making music so around 2019 after all being friends for some years we decided to try to make music together and the rest just clicked. 

Before going on this journey, did you three always have plans to pursue music professionally? 

Yes definitely, we were all making solo music or in other groups when we met. That’s what brought us together actually. 

We talked about your sound earlier, who are your top five artists that continue to inspire you today?

A Tribe Called Quest, N*E*R*D, Daft Punk, MGMT, Beastie Boys and many others.

Bringing it back to your releases, how have you three evolved as a group since your 2019 release of ‘Let’s Play Sports? 

We’ve developed our sound a ton, and defined what the group is since Let’s Play Sports, the vision is a lot clearer and we know each other a lot better so the writing is way more in-depth.

As an emerging act, what type of impact do you all want to have on the industry and your fans?

We just want to give people quality product, and hopefully leave a lasting impact on people.

We know you just released your album, but what else can fans expect from BLACKSTARKIDS in 2022? 

New music definitely, we’re just figuring out what we want it to be. 

Make sure to check out BLACKSTARKIDS latest record Puppies Forever here or below.