Gio Pika is a Russian rapper, well known in the narrow circles of prisoners and real "guys from the neighborhood". Many fans of "backyard chanson" also like his dark prison-themed music. The songs written by Gio Pika are really unique: imbued with unbelievable anger towards the world around them, they catch and sink into the soul.
Childhood in Tbilisi
Gio Dzhioev (real surname of the artist) was born on May 8, 1978 in the sunny city of Tbilisi. His parents were Ossetians, but at that time were in Georgia. From childhood, they instilled in Gio a love of music. Supported them and the boy's older brother, who often replaced his father. The head of the family himself was a soloist in a small local band and had been playing string instruments since he was a teenager.
Gio's upbringing was strict, and the schedule was densely packed: music school, vocal lessons, sports section of martial arts.... But the guy liked the street better, only there he could be himself. And it is not surprising that he always tried to find time for fun in the yard.
Life changed dramatically after the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict. Gio's family moved frequently, they had to endure more than one ordeal. Eventually fate brought the future artist to Moscow.
A former successful doctor is now a rapper by vocation
After graduating from school, Gio entered the medical school. So insisted his parents, who chose this profession for him. The competition was huge, there was no blat, so he had to make his own way. The guy had no difficulties with Russian and literature. But with biology there could be a problem. However, the issue was solved with a bribe.
The guy had no desire to save people, but he turned out to be an obedient son. After graduating from medical school, Gio worked for 11 years. There were different professions: a nurse, a paramedic, a doctor in an ambulance. Later he took a retraining course and became an anesthesiologist.
At that time Gioev's older brother lived in Syktyvkar. Once he turned to Gio with a request to help solve business problems. The future artist took it as a sign: it's time to leave medicine. He did not like saving people, and watching the suffering was unbearable. It was 2006, Gio was 30 years old, and he moved to his older brother. His parents did not appreciate the decision to quit their jobs, thinking that their youngest son had lost his mind.
It was then that he began to try his hand at music. The guy knew that he had vocal data, but could not decide on the style. First it was blues, then rap. It was he who became the business of his life, although the artist himself now does not understand how it happened.
The first rap composition was called "Syktyvkar-quarterly". There were no problems with the recording of tracks. Gio had many friends: some could give special equipment for free, others opened the doors to recording studios.
About prison and addiction
The rapper decided to sing about prison. Why? Since his youth, the guy loved to read. Most of all he liked books on the history of the USSR. Particular interest was aroused by everything that is connected with prison themes. He read volumes about the Gulag, where most people served their time for nothing. This became a stimulus for creativity. Gio knows all the details of prison life and traditions in such detail that his fans think that he himself served time. Fortunately, such a fact in his biography was definitely not.
However, the rapper himself said that he drank a lot and dabbled in illegal substances. An addiction appeared, from which he later had to get rid of. Now Gio Pica does not touch alcohol even on holidays.
As for the songs, the musician himself explains his creativity simply. He does not promote crime and does not romanticize prison, but shows how difficult the life of people serving time is. Especially since all the songs are written on the basis of information taken from historical books. It was the lawlessness going on in the gulag that gave him the impetus for his musical creativity.
Gio Pica as a musician and actor
Having moved to Syktyvkar, Gio began to work in a kebab shop. And very often he heard the words thrown in his address: "pika", "peak". This is the slang term for non-Russians, people from the mountains. Later this very word was taken as a stage name.
The first popular track of the artist was "Fountain with a dolphin". In it, Gio sings about people sentenced to life imprisonment. In 2016, the first album "KomiCrime" came out, which he released with the help of his team. Next, the artist took a fast pace. New albums were released one after another. The artist himself said that at that time he did not collect huge stadiums, although his songs were popular. Most of all, fans are happy to see the musician in St. Petersburg and Moscow. And very fond of Gio in Siberia.
In 2021, Pika tried himself on the acting field. Fans were able to see him in the series "Your Honor", where he played the gypsy Harman.
Income and family of the artist
How much rapper Gio Pica earns now, it is difficult to say. It is believed that the main income he receives from the release of albums. Also Gio has a channel on "YouTube", which brings about 150 thousand rubles every month.
Does Gio Pica have a family? In the 2000s, the artist met with a girl named Julia. Later they got married, and in 2012 a daughter Amina was born. After a while, the couple divorced. The ex-wife remarried, the daughter lives with her. Later she had a son with her current spouse.
Despite living in Moscow, the artist finds free minutes to see his daughter in Syktyvkar.
In May 2024, the rapper married for the second time. His chosen one's name is Asya, she is 19 years younger than her husband. The wedding was played in Georgia. Photos of happy newlyweds can be seen on Gio's page in the social network Instagram.
New disks and a long-standing dream
In 2022-2023, 3 new albums were added to Gio's discography. All of them were recorded together with another rap singer Pavel Kravtsov, better known as Kravts.
Gio has a long-standing dream: to organize a tour of Russian prisons. So far, it has not succeeded. But the artist believes and hopes that one day he will perform in front of the people he sings about in his songs.
