One thing you’ll notice about Nio Tha Gift is that he’s a storyteller. His style flows into a narrative, describing not just hood settings or childhood dreams, but an introspection worthy of any serious rapper and writer.

As a kid, Nio had his humble beginnings freestyling with his brothers over cassettes. “Before I knew the business,” says Nio, “or even the craft of rapping itself, I thought every rapper freestyled. I viewed writing as a form of cheating.” Soon Nio learned that it was common for rappers to write their own material, and at that Nio set forth to creating music. By the age of fourteen, Nio had already recorded his first song—an impressive start for a young teenager. “I had so many rhymes memorized that when I went into the studio, I was freakishly productive.” But the years in high school weren’t so lucky. Nio had lost a season of playing basketball his senior year due to academics. And as if things couldn’t get worse, he also lost his scholarship offer due to a run in with the police. “All I could turn to at that point was music,” Nio says. “I mean, it was either two things: work for the rest of my life or become a celebrity.” And that’s when things really started to turn around for Nio Tha Gift.