For anyone familiar with Zio (pronounced ZEE-YO), one thing’s clear — he’s never played by anyone else’s rules. A Pittsburgh heavyweight since the MySpace days, Zio became the first artist from his city to reach a million streams at just 18, later earning a nomination alongside Wiz Khalifa for “Best Male Hip Hop Artist.” His journey, led by resilience and reinvention, continues to redefine what independence in hip-hop truly looks like.
After a turbulent run with Warner Music Group that left his catalog stripped away, most artists would have folded. Zio didn’t. He pivoted.
“I’ve got love for Warner now,” he says, unbothered. “Would I work with them again? Absolutely — hell, I’d even take an acting deal from them. People don’t even realize yet how deep my acting side goes. That world hasn’t seen me yet, but it will.”
That mix of humility and quiet confidence threads through his new project, Sabbatical, which arrives in an unorthodox rollout. It began with a surprise drop — “The Truth” — on Thursday, August 7. No teasers, no hype cycle, just raw delivery. From there, Zio plans to release a new track every Friday beginning August 15, building the album week by week to ride the momentum of the global #NewMusicFriday movement.
The rollout isn’t random; it’s strategic. Each weekly drop fuels streaming algorithms while ensuring every record gets its proper shine. Zio isn’t chasing viral moments — he’s setting the stage for longevity.
“This isn’t about proving I’m the best,” he says matter-of-factly. “I already know I am. I’ve been doing this longer than some of these kids have been alive. I’m a vet. I’ve seen the politics, the racial inequality in my own city, and the industry overlooking me. So I said, ‘Fuck it.’ I built my own businesses — they pay better than music ever did. Now I drop when I feel like it.”
At 36, Zio’s priorities have shifted, but his passion hasn’t.
“Man, I can party, chase trends, blow money — or I can make music that means something to me. I choose that. I’ve already won.”
Beyond music, Zio now runs multiple ventures that solidify his “Entrepreneurial Lone Wolf” identity — not as a slogan, but as a lifestyle. Independence isn’t a fallback; it’s his blueprint. And Sabbatical proves that walking away from the mainstream doesn’t mean walking away from excellence.
“I love Warner. I love the industry. But my catalog’s already fire,” he says. “If you don’t know, you better catch up. I’m not asking for a seat at anyone’s table — I built my own.”
Follow Zio on Instagram @lonewolfdta
Hulda Hicks was born in Brooklyn, NY in the late ’70s, at the time when Hip-Hop music was just emerging as an art form. Her entire life was influenced by the culture, having grown up in the epicenter of the creative movement.
As a trained musician and vocalist, Hulda got exposed to the industry in her twenties and has worked on projects with iconic figures such as the Chiffons, the Last Poets, and Montell Jordan, to name a few. Her passion for music extended past the stage on to the page when she began to write ad copy and articles as a freelancer for several underground publications.
A written review from “Jubilee Huldafire” is as authentic as it gets, hailing from one creative mind that has a unique voice, on paper and in person.
