SSIO

Born in Bonn on January 28, 1989, three years after his family had relocated from Afghanistan to Europe, Ssiawosch Sadat, better known as SSIO, grew up straddling two sharply contrasting worlds. German rap of Afghan heritage, he first encountered hip-hop around the turn of the millennium and quickly developed a deep admiration for American icons such as 2Pac, the Notorious B.I.G., and the Dogg Pound. Intent on capturing the dense, sample-heavy aesthetic of that era rather than embracing stripped-down digital production, he began laying down verses for locally circulated mixtapes while still in his early teens. In 2007 he joined the independent imprint All or Nothing Records, initially recording under the alias Kanakonda. By 2012, now performing as SSIO, he issued the mixtape Spezial Material, which climbed to position 69 on the German charts. His follow-up, the 2013 album BB.U.M.SS.N, achieved stronger results, peaking at number six in Germany and reaching the Top 20 in both Austria and Switzerland. Outside the studio, SSIO continues his academic work as a business-administration student at the University of Koblenz.