There’s a certain grit that can’t be streamed, can’t be bought, can’t be faked. Pittsburgh’s own Zio — born Mitchel K. Malizio — has carried that grit since day one, back when he was pulling one million streams on MySpace before most rappers had even shot a music video. He’s been the underdog and the overachiever, the hometown hero and the industry’s “one that got away.” And now, in 2025, he says he’s making one last all-out run at hip-hop before trading the game for entrepreneurship.
If that sounds like defeat, you don’t know Zio.
“I’ve been moving like it’s my last quarter in the game,” he tells me, leaning forward with that half-smirk you only get from surviving too much to be rattled. “If the labels can’t see it by now, they’re asleep at the wheel.”
The résumé alone should have any A&R sitting up straighter:
First Pittsburgh rapper to hit 1M streams at just 18.
Nominated alongside Wiz Khalifa for “Best Male Hip Hop Artist.”
Sponsored by Heineken and Steelers RB Rashard Mendenhall’s Southern Royalty clothing line before his 21st birthday.
Fought through a headline-making legal case, survived four years of “High Impact” probation, and came back sharper than ever.
The climb hasn’t been easy and the falls were harder. In 2024, a label dispute with Warner Music Group stripped his entire catalog. Most artists would’ve been crushed. Zio fought back. Now, all of his 2024 work from the BIZZY 3 era is back on streaming, along with the re-release of “Up All Night” with Millyz, a track praised by The Source Magazine itself, racking up 380,000 views on YouTube and counting.
And yet, Zio’s career has never been just about numbers.
“I’ll never forget the people who waited in the freezing cold for an autograph or somehow found my flight info and met me at the airport to sign their phone cases,” he says. “That’s love. Those are my people. Being independent is fine with me — the numbers matter, but what matters most is integrity. My dream is to inspire. If I ain’t the biggest on the block, okay… so what? At least I inspired that next dude who might become that.”
This year, Zio is taking the gloves off. The plan is simple: a relentless run of music, visuals, and stories that nobody — not even the most jaded exec — can ignore. And if they still don’t make the call? He’s good with that too.
“Hip-hop gave me everything — discipline, pain, purpose,” he says. “But I’m not here to beg. If the industry won’t keep up with the hunger, I’ll put that grind into building something else. Music will always be my first love, but life’s too short to wait on someone to ‘discover’ you.”
Zio calls himself the Lone Wolf for a reason. He moves alone, fights alone, and eats what he hunts. This final run in 2025 isn’t just about proving he’s still here, it’s about proving he never left.
Because sometimes the most dangerous artist in the game is the one who’s already made peace with walking away.
Listen to Zio on Spotify:
http://open.spotify.com/artist/7MTBeb7tPfh5I06N3PR7nX?si=1iHG6jpCS9iplSWqQwdxQg