TheBabeGabe brings her singular pop stardom to FIFA Fan Fest

TheBabeGabe at the FIFA Fan Festival // Photo by Stella Subasic

Solo artist TheBabeGabe is a genre-defyer, lover of Tumblr culture, and in her own words, Kansas City’s first pop star. Her latest EP made up of four songs, Love Language, follows a sister-album drop, HONEYPOP and HONEYPOP: RELOADED.

She, along with a collective of her music-making friends, SEVEN RINGS, are performing at the FIFA Fan Festival Saturday, July 11 at 1:15 p.m.

SEVEN RINGS is made up of TheBabeGabe, Paris Williams, Monogram, her long-time collaborator and friend Ty Faizon, who together were two-thirds of the BLACKSTARKIDS before each other’s solo careers, and The Human, a producing duo made up of Faizon and Medici.

Their performance at the FIFA Fan Festival will be like “hitting shuffle” on a playlist of all of SEVEN RINGS’ discography, according to Gabe.

The Pitch: You’ve pitched yourself as Kansas City’s first pop star. Pretend this is a job interview: what makes you qualified for this position?

TheBabeGabe: My sound is so different; no one’s doing that here in Kansas City. I’m ready to represent my city, be loud about everything, and try something a little bit more risky.

You and Ty Faizon went to high school together, were in the BLACKSTARKIDS, and have continued to collaborate into each other’s solo careers. What do you attribute the longevity of your creative relationship to?

When you have someone in those early stages who really believes in you, wants to put in the work, and who wants to see you win, keep that person in your life. A lot of people feel like you have to do everything by yourself, but some of the greatest artists had multiple people in the rooms when they were making their best albums.

You grew up in Kansas City, how has your relationship with the city changed or evolved as you have in your career?

When I was in the BLACKSTARKIDS, I never realized how much support we had in the city. So when the support for my solo music was immediate, it made me realize that this is my home base, where the heart and the core of everything is. All my fans, supporters, collaborators, and most of my shows are here. It’s important to me to incorporate the city into my visuals, like in the HONEYPOP short film.

Ty Faizon, TheBabeGabe, Paris Williams and Monogram of SEVEN RINGS // Photo by Stella Subasic

You’ve said that your newest EP, “Love Language,” is inspired by 2010s Tumblr. Tell me more.

That time, to me, felt so dreamy and like everybody was trying to create their own world. I wanted the Love Language era to be what my own dreamy world would look and sound like, which is pink, pretty, and glittery.

You cited Britney Spears, Rihanna, and Lady Gaga as major influences in your HONEYPOP era. Where did you pull inspiration from for Love Language?

Kali Uchis’ Por Vida; I think that’s like one of my favorite eras she’s had. She was working really close with Tyler, the Creator, her hair was pink and everything was dreamy and reminded me of Tumblr. And people sleep on Britney Spears’ R&B tracks—“Why Should I Be Sad” is such a great Britney song that we should talk about more. And Janet, still. She’s always going to be on my mood board.

Performing at KC Pride last month was on your 2026 bucket list, what else is on that list?

Drop another album, do a headline show, and I want to do one more show outside of Kansas City. Either Chicago or St. Louis.

What’s on the vision board for your next album?

The color orange, silver lipstick, and a disco ball.

Beyond TheBabeGabe and SEVEN RINGS’ Fan Festival performance, you can find her on August 13 at In The Lowest Ferns celebrating the first anniversary of HONEYPOP: RELOADED and debuting remixes from the album.

Interview condensed for length and clarity.