Labinot Gashi[3][4] (pronounced[ɡaˈʃi]; born October 4, 1989), known mononymously as Gashi (stylised as GASHI), is an American rapper, singer and songwriter.[5]
Biography
Labinot Gashi was born in Tripoli, Libya,[3] on October 4, 1989, to ethnic Albanian parents from Kosovo. He spent his childhood in several African and European countries before settling in Brooklyn, New York City, at the age of 10.[3][6]
Struggling to pick up the English language, he turned to music to help ease his adjustment into society, and quickly became hooked to rap. Gashi graduated from New Utrecht High School and earned a football scholarship to play at a Division 2 school in Massachusetts (American International College).[7] Although Gashi earned honors during his first year in college, he decided to drop out of college and concentrate more on music. He prepared his first mixtape and initially adopted the stage name The Kid Gashi[3] to change it later to Gashi and eventually G4SHI. His stage name has officially changed back to GASHI.
Gashi won First Look Sessions' "First Time Performances" in 2010 and 2011.[8] His debut project, the mixtape Last of a Rare Breed (2011) was hosted by Erkman, and featured tracks with Nipsey Hussle and French Montana. In 2012, G4shi founded his own group called Moxy.[8] 2012 was a breakthrough year with the release of the hit "Rocket". In 2012, he also released "Beautiful World" under his crew Moxy. Future tracks, which included "Who Made Me" and "Laughing", were featured on Hot 97 after Peter Rosenberg co-signed him.[8]
In 2013, he released a follow-up mixtape I'll Be Right With You.[4] A later project, entitled, 4Play featured his single "Room 4".[9] In 2015, he released the track "Switch Up" and in 2016 "Day Ones" followed by "Turn Me Down" and "Disrespectful" both in 2017. The song "Disrespectful" was also featured in episode 4 of Showtime's The Chi.
The self-titled LP is his first studio release for RCA Records and was released in 2019. The album comprises 16 songs, featuring G-Eazy, French Montana, DJ Snake and Maxx Owa, among others. The project was led by a number of singles, including "Creep on Me" featuring French Montana, "Safety" featuring DJ Snake, and "My Year" with G-Eazy.[citation needed]
