Gonya
Igor Volodymyrovych Gutnyk
Date of birth – June 8, 1993
City – Lviv (Ukraine)
Language – Ukrainian
Genre – hip-hop, rap
The history of the artist's formation
Gonya (real name – Ihor Gutnyk) – Ukrainian rapper, author and performer of his own tracks. The future star of the hip-hop underground was born and raised in Lviv. He began to show his talent as a rap reader in his youth. At the age of 14, together with his classmate Yuriy, he began to create compositions. The matter dragged on and the young man never left the expanses of the genre.
While still at school, Igor Gutnyk graduated from the "SHAG" computer academy. He was most interested in the graphic design course. In 2009, he met Stepan, known as the artist Palindro. Together they founded the band Glava 94. And the next year the band released several singles and the mini-album "Unknown". The debut was successful and brought the musicians their first recognition and popularity. The catchy lyrics and spectacular sound were liked by many. Local hip-hop fans welcomed the freshmen with enthusiasm. Each new concert and track increased the number of fans of the young group.
Solo career
Inspired by the success of joint live shows with the project Chapter 94, Gonya continues to develop his own style and immerses himself in the hip-hop industry. Under the nicknames PidBit, Lemberg Battle, Pitbull Battle, the rapper participates in online battles. The performer used pseudonyms so that the audience would not associate battle creativity with solo work.
In 2015, Gonya presented his solo mini-album "Fitality", which was dominated by joint tracks with local rappers. As Igor himself admitted, initially he had no plans to develop a solo career. But due to Palindromus's employment, the group became less active. This prompted the accumulation of his own material, which later resulted in Gonya's first solo releases.
Gonya officially announced the start of his solo career in 2018. In 2020, his second album "Sabotage" and several video clips for the album's tracks were released. In the new release, Gonya presented five solo tracks and two joint ones - with Sonnium and Nemo. Together, they created a concept album about rap and the challenges that a musician faces, trying to maintain his own style and not adapt to the changing trends of the modern world.
After that, work begins on his debut full-length album. In parallel, the artist is engaged in creative collaboration with Ukrainian rappers. However, with the outbreak of a full-scale war, Gonya was forced to reconsider his plans for the future. And instead of the planned release, he released a mini-album “Neither in a corner nor in a door.” A video clip was shot for one of his main singles, the song “Ice.”
Artist's style and development
Gonya continues to experiment with genres and styles, searching for new forms of music. However, the strongest source of inspiration for the rapper remains the realities that surround him and exist within him. And already in 2023, singles from the new album "Headache" ("Like You", "The Worst Song About Love 2" and "Inferno") appear. The release is later released on the Africa Label label, where Gonya is the director and co-founder.
In 2024, Gonya decided to release six archive tracks from the EP “Fitality” on streaming platforms. These are compositions recorded back in the heyday of Chapter 94. According to the rapper, it is “ancient screaming rap.” With this release, Ihor reminded listeners of the raw street underground sound, which at one time brought the first recognition to the band members.
In Goni's personal account, he also participated in the experimental project The Cute Four. The rapper has the image of the Fire King in it. This is all the bright charisma and such personal qualities of the artist as sincerity and genuineness. And this means that there are still many more conquered festival scenes and hearts of fans ahead.
Artist's discography:
- "Fitality" (EP, 2015);
- "Sabotage" (ER, 2020);
- "Neither in the corner nor in the door" (EP, 2022);
- "Headache" (LP, 2023);
- "Fatality" (EP, 2024).
Interesting facts about the artist:
- The rapper calls on listeners to pay for subscriptions to their favorite music. After all, piracy is a step backwards. And Ukrainians need to raise their culture and music industry;
- after the release of the album "Neither in a corner nor in a door" and the video clip for the single "Ice" in 2022, the Ukrainian publication "Slukh" included the video work in the list of the best music videos of the year;
- Gonya combines his creative work with working as a barber in Lviv (the musician opened his own establishment in the city).
