From his early days pushing musical boundaries as an immigrant in New York City, Labinot ‘Larry’ Gashi is a versatile artist breaking free from genres and labels. In this candid conversation, Gashi shares insights into his latest album Brooklyn Cowboy, revealing the intentionality behind his work and his path toward embracing vulnerability and self-discovery. After achieving major success in the hip-hop world, he’s now blending a fresh country sound, drawing inspiration from legends like Johnny Cash, and channeling deeply personal stories. As he prepares to release his most intimate project yet, Gashi takes listeners on a journey from the iconic recording studios of Muscle Shoals to the streets of Brooklyn — and ultimately, to his true self.

So I hear you have an album dropping… 

Yes, Brooklyn Cowboy. It all started in 2019 when I covered a Johnny Cash song, and his family shared it on Instagram. That really floored me because here I was, a hip-hop artist, getting recognition from Johnny Cash’s family. It simultaneously meant so much to me — and made me realize I was onto something.

So I began working on it in 2020, but I didn’t release it at the time because my label wasn’t sure about me doing a country-sounding vibe. It’s ironic though because here we are, four years later, and it’s one of the hottest genres. The same thing happened with my album 1984. People thought I was crazy for doing an 80s vibe, but a few years later, everyone was bringing that sound back.

It all worked out though, because now I’m fortunate to be putting it out on my terms, through my own label, Orca Sounds Records. That really lets me align everything the way I envision — the music, the fashion, the visuals for the music video, etc. In my head, after covering that Johnny Cash song, I wanted to create an oxymoronic image of a New York Yankees logo on a cowboy hat. So I guess that’s where I started. Then I came up with the sound while I was going through a lot during the pandemic, like the rest of the world. I knew I was really onto something big with this Brooklyn Cowboy thing by then, I just needed to catch a new vibe to really lay down some tracks. So I went to Muscle Shoals, Alabama and recorded this album.

I kept hearing about Muscle Shoals around this time — and then I saw a documentary on it and knew I had to get out there. I was craving more vibes, more feeling to be able to produce what I wanted to produce. And this spot was dubbed “The Hit Recording Capital of the World” but no one had recorded there in a minute, it was almost surreal. Except for Lana Del Rey, she was there at the same time as me. Both of us were seeking the same mindset and connection to these past icons.

You mentioned that feeling of being known as just a hip-hop artist when this all started. You’re obviously much more than just one thing. How would you describe Larry Gashi standing here today?

People always try to label me when they meet me. They assume I’m just a hip-hop artist or a singer, but I’m more than that. I’m a musician, a creative… I’m an artist. I hate to sound cliché, but there’s so much to me that I’ve personally never seen the point in pigeon-holing myself into one genre. I’ve written some of the dopest songs in the pop world, I’ve worked with Travis Scott on rap songs, I’ve worked with an amazing Algerian artist, Cheb Khaled… and I think there’s so much beauty in versatility. 

 If you look at the Kanye song “All of the Lights” for example and what people loved most about it, it’s that there are 14 different artists on there. John Legend, Alicia Keys, Fergie, Elton John, Rihanna… there’s so many genres converging on one song. Similarly, I think that’s what makes the music video for “We Are The World” so dope. You see everybody from Michael Jackson to Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie and Bob Dylan.

So yeah, I think labels are out. It’s a free world out here. It’s time to make people feel comfortable about who they are. If labels matter to you, that’s cool, I respect that too. But when it comes to an artist’s freedom, you should be able to express yourself any way you want. I’ve never stuck to one genre, and that’s what has kept me evolving.

I love that message of free expression and not needing labels. It kind of traverses your identity, your music, your fashion… is that ethos how you live every aspect of your life? Just following curiosity and constantly evolving? 

Yeah, I think the wiser I get (I hate the word older) — so the wiser I get, the more I get to know who I am. And with that, everything starts to matter. I realize that every single step, every detail contributes to who I am. There’s a reason why I have this rug on my floor in my condo… there’s a reason why I have this plant in this corner of the room. The same goes for music. There’s a reason why you hear what you hear. Sometimes it happens accidentally at first, but it’s always intentional in the end. That’s why I love Kendrick Lamar’s raps — because he’ll say one word, but have twelve different meanings. 

I feel like on this album, I’m expressing myself in a way where my future self is going to thank me for it. There’s so much stuff that people don’t know about me, that I don’t express. And that’s because I haven’t known how to. But if there’s any way I can express and be free, it’s through my music.

I have so many different stories within this album. And most of them, I wrote for different people in my life, rather than just me. 

Can you share one of those songs and stories?

There’s a song called “Heaven” you’ll hear that was written about a friend whose father died of AIDS. I don’t want to get too personal and detailed when it comes to somebody else’s business, but the premise is that he told his family that he was dying of cancer. He was too embarrassed to ever say that he had a relationship with a man, so he had to take that to the grave and literally die with it. The only reason my friend found out was from the doctor. And I thought, “That really sucks — that you can have a relationship with someone and feel like you’re in heaven, but in reality, some people like him have to experience that all in secret and die for it.”

“Broken Sign” is another one that’s out right now. I thought that song wasn’t even really going to perform, but it’s doing better than any other single I’ve released. And maybe that’s because of where it came from… A while back, I dated one of the biggest artists in the world. We broke up, yet still to this day, it’s so crazy that I still hear about it everywhere I go. I think you have to forgive and let go, but some people just don’t. I don’t hold onto things, I love moving on, and that’s what “Broken Sign” is all about. You can still miss somebody even after you’ve moved on, especially when you still hear about them. 

Another song on this album is one of my favorite songs ever, called “Silent Depression.” It doesn’t even sound country really, it’s more alternative rock. It’s about a situation I was going through during the pandemic, where I lost a lot of my money. I had to pretend that I didn’t though on social media. To the world, all was good. But silently, I was going through a big depression and my whole world was falling apart. Frankly, everyone else’s was too at that time. But what I learned was that it can be liberating to focus on yourself. It’s like when you’re on an airplane and they instruct you to put your own mask on first. I used to always tell people, “I’d die for you.” But that’s not right. To get out of my depression, I had to tell people, “I’d live for you.” And so this song was about it being time to live for myself — because if I’m not alive, I can’t be in a position to help anyone else.

What are some of the things you’re most excited to be living for right now?

I’ve never been this comfortable with myself and in my own skin before, so I’m excited about starting to really like who I am. 

I’ve been doing this for 14 years, I’m in my thirties, and only now am I starting to embrace my story. I’m a refugee from Kosovo, you know? I had to travel through so many countries before I ever came to America, and became an American citizen. At the time, I hated my given name ‘Labinot’ and so I changed it to ‘Larry.’ But I’m starting to own that name. I’m starting to own that I came into the music business with no family ties, no money, and I made millions of dollars. I’ve had records go triple platinum. I’ve had a lot of success, and I’ve had a lot of my dreams come true. I’ve also seen a lot of my dreams die. And at the end of the day, I’m grateful for all of it. 

We always want ‘more,’ but sometimes, you need to just pause and look in the rearview mirror for a second. Not for too long, or else you’ll crash. But just enough to see where you came from, so you can be grateful for all you’re doing now. 

Is ‘owning your story’ part of why you started your own label?

Totally. I chose the name Orca Sound Records for the label because I always felt like an orca in a pool, being controlled by all these people outside of myself. But it was time for me to find myself, to be in the ocean, and to do what I want, the way I want.  

That’s even what’s behind the album cover. I lost myself in Los Angeles and in order for me to find myself again, I needed to go back to Brooklyn. So I packed up, drove to Muscle Shoals, recorded the album, and then kept driving to Brooklyn. And all along the way, I was killing my old self, my ego, the man I was ‘supposed’ to be based on everyone else’s dreams and standards. So I wanted to represent that. And I felt the best way to do it was to go back to Bungalow 3 at Chateau Marmont in LA and sit in the same chair where fellow Albanian John Belushi passed away. I’ve always been obsessed with him, with that spot, and going back there expressed how I was letting go of my old self, how I just wanted to be free to embrace who I truly am.

The biggest lesson within all of this has been learning that vulnerability is a power, not a weakness.

That’s beautiful, another throughline of your intentionality. You mentioned going home to Brooklyn — so I wanted to ask that question: What is home to you? Is it a city, a person, a feeling?

I can finally say this now: I think home is me. I’ve learned that no matter where I moved over the years, I felt the same. No matter where I went, it was still the same me trapped in this body. Don’t get me wrong, I love the feeling of a nice home, but that’s why I say “This house is not a home” in my song “Cold.” Because I’ve had the biggest house, but that’s not what made it a home. What I chose to put in it, the feelings I created, who I was inside of it, that’s what makes it a home. You need to design your home inside yourself, just as much as the space you physically live in. And I think other people who didn’t have a good experience of home growing up can relate to that the most. 

What would you say makes you happiest at home?

I’m actually happiest when I’m driving an old-school classic car down the Pacific Coast Highway. I’m so in love with the past, I love the 50s, the 60s, the 70s. All different eras of music and living and style. That’s why I loved California, because when I’m there, I feel like I’m in a time warp. It lets me be free to truly embrace all those parts of me. 

And that’s also what makes me happiest at home, when I am around people who allow me to be myself. People who truly know who I am. That’s the greatest love you can give anyone in life — it’s not material things — it’s allowing them to be themselves without judgment. I love my family and I have a group of friends who know me inside out. Other than them, I can’t do that a lot. 

True, at your level that’s got to be really hard to connect sometimes.

Yeah, it’s so strange how I’ve worked so hard my whole life to be seen and noticed… just to put sunglasses on and hide. But this album, what I’m most excited about is that it’s the first time I’m really putting my full self out there in the world. It’s blending my Brooklyn home with my past, my identity and my inner home, and I really hope you all love it. 

Brooklyn Cowboy will be released on October 11. Follow Larry Gashi for the latest, @gashi.

Credits:

Written by Carly Long |  @bycarlylong

Photography | Courtesy of Larry Gashi