Gashi’s Gashi Album Review

Gashi’s Gashi album is the followup to his EP Stairs (2016). “The album is basically about a rapper who is stuck in a time machine and is forced to make 80s music,” Gashi said in an interview with NY Times. “I am the trap Phil Collins.” Born in Libya, Gashi moved around with his parents before finally settling in Brooklyn at age 11. He broke out after the video for his single ‘Disrespectful’ started trending on YouTube and got him SoundCloud streams. In 2017, he signed with Roc Nation, talent management company founded by Jay Z, and got a record deal with RCA Records.

Gashi is an out and out Gashi album with 16 tracks. Other than a few verses by G-Eazy, Maxx Owa, and French Montana, it’s all Gashi from start to finish.

Gashi shines in Gashi

There are many outstanding tracks that are sticky in the album. ‘Creep on Me’ is a modern romance song in which Gashi highlights his girl’s behavior. She ignores him when her friends are around, but when she is alone she creeps on him by calling him and finally giving him the attention he expects and deserves. The remix of ‘Creep on Me’ has an addictive beat by DJ Snake. French Montana turns up for his verse in the video with a patterned scarf on his shoulders.

“Because you creep on me when you’re alone (Alone)

And you act like you can’t fall in love

Every single night you call my phone

Always asking if nobody’s home (Yeah)

Come around like the summertime

You bring bright light into my life“

Sometimes we have to disrespect someone to show that they didn’t deserve the respect they were given in the first place. For a guy who was mocked for being a janitor’s son aspiring to be a rapper, it’s fate that his breakout song turned out to be ‘Disrespectful.’ Upcoming singer Maxx Owa featured in ‘Yesterday’ owns the song and makes Gashi look like he is the featured artist. In a song that slows down the beat beautifully only to pick up later, Maxx Owa gets the chorus and Verse 1.

“You hold on to yesterday, that’s gone away

You hold on to yesterday, that’s not today

No more being down ’til the midnight

You know it’s going down and I realize

No more of us waiting, waiting.”

Gashi sounds more dangerous when he picks up pace to match a fast beat like he does in ‘Drive Way’ and again in ‘Safety.’ For a DJ Snake powered beat in ‘Safety’, Gashi sings his heart out like he is about to pull the trigger on himself. His lyrics are simple and his voice has the clarity of Drake, with a mild accent. Like Drake, he has the potential to be a rapper who can appeal to pop and other genre fans.

If you set Gashi’s hit songs, such as ‘Creep on Me’ and ‘Disrespectful,’ as benchmarks for all the other tracks, you are in for a mild disappointment. But if you listen Gashi without any expectations, Gashi is a very enjoyable and ridiculously cool album. The beats made by various producers get your attention and raise your heartbeat as Gashi sings about love, heart break and suicidal thoughts.

Gashi makes it look so effortless, doesn’t matter if he is bragging about getting attention from worldwide girls in ‘Turn Me Down’ or if he is begging for a girl to confirm her love for him and save him in ‘1134’. In ‘My Year,’ he declares this year is going to be his year. It won’t be a surprise if this year turns out to be his, after all.

Musicjo.com rating: 7.5/10

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Gashi Album Tracklist