GIZMOTHAPLAYA BIO
Life is only what you make it. This is the lesson that Josh “Gizmo” Hairston's parents taught him. Born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and living there up until the age of 4 years old, Giz's Dad decided to move his entire family to Dallas, Texas. Throughout the years they moved around the Dallas area beginning in Oak Cliff, The Woods, Wilmer Hutchins and eventually landing in Lancaster, Tx. It wasn’t an easy transition as his family struggled to make ends meet, but through faith, hard work and dedication things began to turn around for the better. Gizmo attributes his musical talents to growing up playing instruments with his brothers. Giz and his siblings taught themselves how to play and became very good at it. He played the drums and his brothers played the keyboard, organ, and guitar while their baby sister sang.
In grade school, friends of Gizmo would freestyle while he made the beats on the table. One afternoon Giz jumped in and started rapping and the response that he got from everyone around was unbelievable. Currently, rapping wasn't at the top of Gizmo’s radar, he was more interested in becoming a professional football player. He was a good receiver and ended up playing in college. He also participated in a few indoor/arena football leagues and camps before realizing that his football journey was coming to an end. He still focused on football for a while, but the music never quite left the picture. Before games, Giz's teammates would ask him to freestyle to get them hyped up. His passion for music grew even more.
Prior to that, while attending the University of Houston one of Gizmo's teammates “L.C Kirkpatrick” had a small studio in his dorm room. He had a mixtape that he was working on and after hearing Giz rap he wanted to feature him on it. L.C let their other teammates hear Giz and their response to it was amazing, that's the day when Gizmo transformed and actually began to picture himself as an actual artist. Giz was known on the UofH campus for always freestyling at parties and different gatherings. He later teamed up with a college friend Antaeus "Lil Tae" Hemphill and they created the duo group “MOA Gang” (Money Over All Gang). They released mixtapes Pur$e First A** La$t hosted by DJ Chill and also “Sleepless Nights Vol. 1 and 2” hosted by DJ Sallis. SN’s Vol.2 mixtape also debuted Giz as a solo artist. In 2008, he teamed up with DJ Mr. Rogers and released his single “She Going Live” which created a nice buzz in Texas. In 2010, Giz teamed up with his little brother Jeremy "J Mu" Hairston to release his solo mixtape “Grinda Mission”. The response was good but at this time Giz was continuing to better his craft and thought it would be smart if he would re-release the mixtape by replacing/adding a few more songs to it. That move came out to be very beneficial for him. In 2013 he renamed the mixtape “Grinda Mission Reloaded” and again teamed up with DJ Mr. Rogers to do the hosting on the tape. With Giz’s smooth delivery, wordplay and content mixed with DJ Mr. Rogers creativity the CD flowed great from start to finish. The response was good in the streets and that mixtape still gets love today.
In 2015, Giz released his debut Album G.T.P Vol.1. This album released a different sound from Giz that showed his growth as an artist. He worked with his brother JMu again but also worked with a few more respected producers in the Dallas area such as $likk Music, ItsABigEBeat, MISTA E and 100 to give you a variety of sounds. The response to this project was again great and the people began to want more music from Giz. However, some unexpected things happen in Giz’s life and he thought it would be best to step away from the music scene for a while. Although he wasn’t 100% back, his passion for making music never left and he was quietly working behind the scenes and perfecting his craft. He wanted to continue displaying his southern sound but he wanted to have his own original sound while doing so. A sound that when the people heard him on a track they knew it was him from start to finish. In 2017, Gizmo returned to the music scene to release official videos from a few past projects with Dallas videographers Street Classics and Tim P. Currently, Giz has released multiple visuals with Videographers Jeff Adair and AToneyFilmz and plans to release plenty more! He's back and better than ever! Giz has been in the studio working with producers J Mu and TreBeats and he's been working hard releasing track after track. These records are getting major love and show that Giz has perfected that original sound he was hoping to create.
Not only is Gizmo focused on making good music, but he also loves to give back to his community in Lancaster, Texas and other surrounding Dallas areas as well. He helps to instill values into the future that don’t always have a strong male figure in their lives. He also strives to help his community live healthier lifestyles by coordinating different informative health and wellness events throughout the year.
Gizmo is definitely someone you should keep your eyes on whether it's his music or giving back to his community, he is already proving to be a trendsetter!