Rapper Gio Basha makes Mafia Music, not Gangsta Rap.

Gio Basha isn’t new to the music industry. He is already well acquainted with a lot of important people in the business, from New York to L.A. and he was raised on hip-hop growing up in The Bronx. With that said, initially Basha never dreamed of making music himself. All that changed when he released his first song “mafia” which was a tribute to his childhood friend who had been gunned down in the neighborhood they grew up in. Since then, he has not looked back. However what most do not know about him is that he had never considered pursuing music professionally.

According to Basha, even though he has always loved and enjoyed writing music, it was just a hobby in the beginning and he had never thought of taking his pastime to the next level. Basha’s longtime friend, media consultant “Kelvin Lupertazzi” suggested that Gio make a song, as a tribute to their friend who had been murdered earlier that year. The rest is history. “Mafia” Gio Basha’s first single was an overnight hit, video directed by Benji Filmz. “We instantly knew we had something.” Basha’s unique style of drill and combination of old school gangster rap has set him apart in this fiercely competitive space. Sure we have all heard hardcore hip-hop before but Basha is 100% authentic in everything that he says. He is what a lot of these rappers pretend to be. Basha’s music has been receiving a lot of international praise and how he is able to penetrate different audiences from a multitude of cultural backgrounds is just phenomenal. You can hear Basha’s music driving down the street in Santo Domingo or in the back alleys of Bangladesh. For an independent rapper who isn’t signed to a major label yet, to be able to pull that off, just shows how talented Basha really is.

Despite the controversies behind Gio Basha’s music and or personal life, he continues to show how prevalent and powerful he actually is. From his single “Money” to his new song “Gotham” the story is becoming clearer and more defined. Before Basha was able to generate a buzz unwittingly, what happens now that he’s decided to take it serious? “We are seeing the emergence of a new type of rap genre” according to The Source magazine —and “drill” is taking over.