ONEFOUR’s Pio ‘YP’ Misa Has Been Ordained As A Priest

ONEFOUR member Pio ‘YP’ Misa has reportedly been ordained as a Christian priest, following his recent string of legal battles.

The news comes via Take Flight, who this morning (February 26) shared a post made on Facebook by YP’s father, Sifoua Tauasa Misa. In the post (which is not publicly accessible, but was reuploaded to Take Flight’s Instagram page), the elder Misa wrote: “Pio’s journey has been bumpy with stumbling blocks, bad decisions and at times heartache (for me too). But, he returned to church because he knew he needed to change. Today he was ordained a priest and served sacrament for the first time. My heart!”

At the time of writing, neither YP nor ONEFOUR have commented publicly on the news. Many of his colleagues in the rap scene have shared their support for his change in direction, though – for example, in the comments of the aforementioned Instagram post, YNG Martyr offered: “No matter how people feel about religion, turning your life around and becoming a better person is always a [win].”

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At the end of last year, it was reported that YP had plans to step away from ONEFOUR, having reconnected with Christianity during his last stint in jail. Last September, was arrested for leading a brawl in northwestern Sydney, and was subsequently charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and destroying or damaging property equal to or less than $2,000 in value. He also received a charge of affray.

In a statement given to The Daily Telegraph, barrister Bryan Royce said that YP would be exiting ONEFOUR because “his Christian beliefs now set him in conflict with some of the messages that are in the lyrics of the band”. YP’s mother reportedly verified the claims, saying the former rapper wants “to lead a pro-social life and be involved in church activities”.

Last month saw ONEFOUR’s longtime manager, Ricky Simandjuntak, announce his departure from the group. It followed the news that NSW Police had uncovered an alleged plot to murder four members of ONEFOUR, arresting two men in conjunction with the conspiracy as part of a wider raid on an international crime syndicate.

Reviewing ONEFOUR’s set at last year’s Listen Out festival in Melbourne (Naarm), this writer opined the group “had a blast onstage, clearly revelling in their fandom’s buoyancy” and “made the most of every second in their 20-minute set, [spitting] every bar with visceral passion as they leapt around the stage”.