Former OneFour rapper begins journey to priesthood after sobering moment in jail

Sitting alone in a Goulburn jail cell in January, Pio Misa, better known by his rap moniker YP, watched as a news story came on TV, revealing an alleged plot to murder him and other members of the rap group he was a part of, OneFour.

It was at that moment he knew he needed to make a drastic change in his life.

"I wasn't surprised, I guess. I knew that people wanted my life, rightfully so, I've done wrong to certain people and in their own due time I hope they can forgive me," Misa said in an exclusive interview with 9News.

As police held a press conference, announcing the arrest of the two alleged hitmen, Pio did something he hadn't done since he was a child.

He read the Bible.

"It was mixed emotions," Misa said.

"Upset was one of them. Obviously afraid for my life. Finding this new journey I felt like my life had just started, experiencing life through Christ, so witnessing that on the news, it was just a big wake-up call that my past is still there."

Misa and OneFour burst onto the Australian music scene in 2019 with hit drill rap song The Message.

It clocked up millions of views on YouTube by highlighting the raw, and sometimes violent, nature of life in Mount Druitt, a suburb in Sydney's west.

Misa and the group quickly made a name for themselves for their gritty and provocative lyrics.

NSW Police have claimed OneFour's music encourages violence, by referencing Sydney's so-called "postcode wars" - making the then-teenager a lightning rod for debates over how to combat gang violence.

The group have been prevented from playing shows in their hometown of Sydney, and around the country.

Misa himself spent two years in prison for a brawl at a pub in Rooty Hill, which he took part in alongside another OneFour member.

Now, speaking through tears, Misa says he felt remorse for his involvement in that kind of behaviour.

"There is that feeling of guilt, knowing that I've influenced some of the younger generation to do stuff like that," he said.

"I'm not proud of the music I've made in the past."

Having left the drill rap group, Misa now claims he's stepped away from a life of violence and left his once notorious identity behind.

"If you believe in something you should stand up for your beliefs. You should stand up for your family. Protect those you care about. In the right way though," he said.

"If there's a way to sort issues out without violence we should definitely take that approach."

After being released from prison earlier this year for another assault, Misa's new journey led him back to his childhood church in Mount Druitt.

He made a decision that would even take his family by surprise.

"I wanted to fully commit myself to feel that happiness and that joy that some of the members were feeling, just seeing it on their faces and in the way they carry themselves," he said.

"So I decided to take that next step in the gospel. And it was becoming a priest."

As a result of the dramatic life change, you're more likely to find the 24-year-old in the boxing gym than the streets, training young locals in Sydney's west with his uncle, Lawrence Tauasa.

"He trains with me five days a week," Lawrence said.

"I only give him Sundays off … and Thursdays for bible study."

As he runs exercises and holds boxing pads for teenagers, Misa's influence over the younger generation is still undeniable, as students line up to get a high-five with the fit and imposing figure at the end of a gruelling session.

They're some of the same cohort who once listened to his music intently.

When asked if he would be releasing any new songs, Misa said.

"I might, I haven't fully closed that door yet, but I'm not sure."

Meanwhile, his former group OneFour are about to headline their biggest live show yet, as part of Melbourne's Rising festival.

This story was originally published in The Sydney Morning Herald.