Gary Rafael Hill (born April 21, 1989), professionally known as DJ Spinz, is an American record producer, songwriter and disc jockey. Spinz became a DJ in the late 2000s before turning into a record producer as well.^[1] He has produced hits for other artists such as Future, Ty Dolla Sign, Rich Homie Quan, Waka Flocka Flame, Gucci Mane, French Montana, Jacquees, Cash Out, Travis Porter, Rick Ross, 2 Chainz & more.^[2]

Early life

Hill was born April 21, 1989, and grew up in Augusta, Georgia. Spinz's grandmother and uncle ran a supper club and he knew the DJ there since he was three or four years old.^[3] Spinz used to watch him DJ, so it really inspired him. When Spinz was fourteen, his mother bought him his first turntables. The local radio station in Augusta would broadcast high school football games and Spinz made a good impression on the station's program director. Spinz started deejaying during the commercials breaks of the games. When Spinz was sixteen, he met DJ Scream when he went to Atlanta to a Guitar Center to buy some cables for his equipment. When he was sixteen, the program director gave Spinz his own radio spot. At the time everyone around him wanted to be a basketball player or a rapper, but deejaying stuck out to him and he wanted to be able to control the crowd.^[4] At eighteen, Hill moved away from Augusta.

Career

Right after Spinz met DJ Scream, they worked together at Sirius XM Holdings. Scream put Spinz in position throughout the Atlanta scene at the time, landing him a spot in a local Marietta, GA club, which turned into Spinz meeting and breaking several artists in the Atlanta area. In 2009, Spinz shared an evening spot on Atlanta's Hot 107.9′s Hoodrich Radio. Around the time he started 107.9, Spinz started going into production. He picked up a keyboard wanted to learn producing. He got to work looking to perfect his skills and expand his craft. In 2010, Spinz produced the breakout single for Travis Porter, called "Go Shorty, Go". The fame of the song encouraged Spinz to want to keep going further into production. In 2011, Spinz produced 2 Chainz', "Riot". Later in the year, Spinz also produced Ca$h Out's debut single, "Cashin' Out" and Ca$h Out wasn't signed to a label at the time.[4] Spinz is also a mixtape DJ. Spinz and his partner DJ Pretty Boy Tank, have been working on the Space Invaders mixtape series since 2006.[3] His productions have the tag "Cut it up!" voiced by his little brother.

Discography

Production discography

DJ Spinz 808

The DJ Spinz 808 also known as the "Spinz 808" or "TCE Spinz 808" is a variation of a Roland TR-808 bass drum, which is credited to and named after Hill. The sound is used in hip-hop, pop, and R&B and is one of the most popular and iconic sounds in trap music. Originally created in 2011, the sample became popular with trap producers due to its low end presence, as well as good punch. It has spawned a large number of variations of its own, with varying levels of distortion, equalization, and other changes. The sample is used when pitched to a low octave to act as a bass in trap beats. The "Spinz 808" has been used by popular producers such as Metro Boomin, Pi'erre Bourne, 808 Mafia, and Wheezy. It has been featured as the bass in many songs, a notable example being the 2019 hit "Old Town Road" by Lil Nas X which reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remained at #1 for 19 weeks.

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