Kriti Mehrotra
While there’s no denying OneFour Member Pio “YP” Miso is an incredibly talented musician — a rap artist and a singer-songwriter — many deemed quite early on that he would lead a life of crime. That’s because he hails from the Western Sydney suburb of Mount Druitt, one of the most criminally violent, dispute-enticing, as well as disadvantageous areas across New South Wales, Australia. “In high school, they had this Islander class where they’d try to give advice,” this Mormon Samoan said in Netflix’s ‘ONEFOUR: Against All Odds.’ “He was telling us, ‘Youse are all going to jail.'”
YP then added, “I remember the first time I ever watched the news; it was [about] one of the lads from our church [who] just got his head caved in by another group of boys. After that, any time I watched the news… if they ever spoke about Mount Druitt, it was all negative.” The 2000-born youngster thus conceded that he subsequently built close bonds with those like him in the community to feel a little safer, including with his elder brother J Emz, plus Celly, Lekks, and Spenny. “It was like, ‘You got my back, I got your back,'” he candidly continued. “The whole reason the boys started chilling together was one our mates ended up getting jumped real bad.”
YP then indicated it was such hangouts that inadvertently led them down the wrong path; “[The boys] were just like, ‘What are we gonna do? We can’t just sit here?’ So… we started walking around deep. If someone was to cross us, boom, jump straight into it.” Yet little did they realize this would soon result in them being labeled a gang, which didn’t leave them even when they found the Street University youth center that helped them uncover their passion for music. OneFour, the drill hip-hop group, was hence born, but the members’ legal troubles and their dark music drove authorities to view them as contentious before placing a persecution target on their backs.
YP’s Efforts to Change Have Sadly Been Unsuccessful
It was back in July 2018 when YP, alongside a few friends, was involved in a violent brawl at the Carousel Inn at Rooty Hill, wherein he used a chair leg to hit someone twice in the back of the head. The then-18-year-old was thus arrested on several charges, including reckless grievous bodily harm, for which a judge sentenced him to four years in prison with the possibility of parole after 2 in 2019. He actually became eligible for parole upon serving this required period in late 2021, only for the matter to conclude with his release without issues on December 3 owing to his good behavior while behind four walls.
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YP later came forward to elucidate he was determined to turn over a new leaf as he had no intention of ever enduring such a thing again, just to release his debut solo single “Out of Sight” to mark the same. He also made it clear he was still a member of OneFour by continuing to develop new music as well as proudly traveling with them, but something within him had admittedly changed during his stint in jail.
“Everyone sees us as thugs, or just hard c**ts from out West,” YP said in a very candid interview with Men’s Health Australia. “But when I came out with this (new solo song) I just wanted to take them on my journey and hope that they can relate. If they can’t understand, it’s on them, bro. If they don’t wanna accept it and don’t wanna accept me growing as an artist, then that’s something they gotta deal with.”
YP continued, “Too many people think that because I’m in front of the screen talking crazy, saying things that are rude and disrespectful, that I’m only that one person. Don’t get me wrong, some of our [OneFour] tracks may be different to what some people like, but that one person in that video isn’t me every day. If I want to grow, I’ve got to take different routes. I can’t stay that same person I was before I went inside.”
Yet alas, everything changed in September 2023 as YP got involved in another brawl after a man made a “disrespectful comment” towards the woman he was hanging out with in a supermarket. This duo actually followed him home, where they assaulted both him as well as his partner prior to damaging some of their estate too, resulting in the 23-year-old’s arrest for affray, assault causing bodily harm, plus damaging property. YP has since accepted complete responsibility for his actions by pleading guilty, so he’s currently awaiting his November 9, 2023, sentencing while remaining in custody.
Read More: Celly: Where is the OneFour Member Now?
