Last of a Rare Breed
Standing at 6'4", weighing in at 225, with a 40 speed of a solid 4.7 seconds Ljabinot Larry Gashi has the qualities and the make up of the next college football athlete to grace the NFL fields. Surprisingly, the wide receiver is not the next big draft pick in the league, but one of the newest and hottest emerging rookies in the Hip Hop game. Before hitting a studio session, Gashi chopped it up with GSHH about his life, career as a rapper, and what he plans to bring to the table.
It was not always the glamorous life of an up and coming rap star for Ljabinot, who goes by the stage name The Kid Gashi. His parents became refugees after dealing with the tyranny and harsh governmental persecution in The Balkans. His parents had migrated to Germany and finally had Gashi after relocating to Africa. Like many people who fled to the United States, Gashi and his parents’ found themselves in the “melting pot” of NYC. It was almost like a chapter from a history book that told the story of people from different parts of the world seeking refuge on Ellis Island. Just like the immigrants from the late 19th century, Gashi stuck to his roots by becoming fluent in Arabic by the time he had touchdown in the land of opportunity. Settling in Flatbush, Brooklyn; the road to improvement proved to be challenging for the Gashi family, but the hard-work and determination of his father propelled the Gashi’s through the difficult times. In fact, Gashi’s father became the super attendant of the building they moved into, which the young artist still resides to this very day! Acquiring the same heart and mind of his parents, Gashi used his inherited abilities in order to better himself, which lead him to become a star football player in high school earning him a full scholarship to play football in college. But beneath the love for the pads, plays, and two a day practices lingered a mistress which would soon become KG’s first love.
There had been no shock to Gashi that he had fell in love with Hip Hop, or music for that matter. He could recall the time he spent in the “motherland” listening to Hip Hop. “I was always into music in Africa. I was listening to Coolio, but always loved Michael Jackson, DMX, Jay -Z, and Lip Bizkit,” said Gashi. One of the most defining moments for Gashi was when he hopped on Hov’s “in my lifetime” track. The joc went in on the beat, which sparked a big response from listeners. Constantly being called Gashi at school because his first name was too difficult for most to pronounce, Kid Gasi stuck with him. From that point onward he went full force with his music and has been doing so for the past ten years since he came to the states.
The newest comers to the game all seem to be a double threat. Either they can rap and produce their own beats, or they can rap and sing. The Kid Gashi is a member of the rap/sing fraternity and has incorporated both into his music, “It depends on the beat, but I would choose rap cause I get my point across with it instead of singing,” said Gashi. No matter if he is harmonizing or giving a hard punch line on the track, Gashi is confident that he is defining himself as well as sending some form of a message to those who lend him their ears. “My lyrics are what matters for me. It may sound like a commercial song but the lyrics are there,” Gashi said. The lyrics from his demo entitled “The Kid Gashi” definitely made a lot of powerful statements. The demo was put on DatPiff.com and was composed of two personal beats and the rest were industry. But it wasn’t until a close friend of KG passed along one of his demos to someone, that got him the attention he needed; ten minutes later he found himself in the infamous Electric Feel Studios. His approach to rapping about daily issues that people are afraid to let out, attracted Electric Fields to the college undergrad. “With my cd’s and music there really are no filters. I don’t hold back I let whatever I feel out,”. His logic seemed to be just what EFS was looking for and after Gashi requested XXL Freshman Nipsey Hussle to be the feature artist on one of his tracks, the studio made it happen. Since their collaboration, Gashi has developed a strong relationship with Nipsey as well as Konvict Musis artist French Montana; who has embraced the un-signed artist whole heartedly. “I've been blessed to have French Montana and Nipsey Hussle its amazing. It’s a crazy feeling with them because they are real. By far French Montana is the realist rapper you would ever meet, he would treat a rapper the same way he would a janitor,” said Gashi.
Backed by his best friends older brother Joe C. under Concrete management, Gashi seems to be just where he wants to be. Still feeling the high from his first show that was over packed with 200 fans, KG is using his new found fame off the field to push his newest project Last of a Rare Breed. With tracks such as “magic moment” and “can't go home”, Gashi is working to provide the streets with what the game has dubbed “real talk”. “I’m doing real shit on a beat that will make you want to listen,” said Gashi. The release of the new project will be an indicator of Gashi’s growth since his last project and will show how much of an impact he is having not only in NYC but in the entire game as a whole. “I feel like New York is a trap and New York rappers fall in that trap and only become known as New York rappers. I want to be something more than New York". -The Kid Gashi-
