Fivio Foreign isn’t in the mood to chat. It’s morning in New York City, where the rapper grew up and continues to live, and he was up late last night in the studio. Never mind that his debut album dropped only a week ago; relaxation isn’t on the agenda. After all, collaborations with Nicki Minaj, Drake, Alicia Keys, and Kanye West don’t materialise through rest. They’re the product of day-in, day-out grinding. “I’m in the studio every day,” he says over Zoom, his camera off. “I just woke up.” His baritone voice, typically heard growling over a club sound system, is heavy with sleep.
“Crazy” is how Fivio describes the release of BIBLE, his Kanye West-produced debut. Offering a softer side to drill, the album trades in catchy choruses and R&B inflections, which make it accessible to masses beyond the genre’s most hardcore demographic. It might be just the thing to finally take drill mainstream. The 32-year-old, real name Maxie Lee Ryles III, is in a similar state of shock over the fact West wanted to work with him. “I didn’t believe it at first. But then, the way my career is going, man, anything is possible.” BIBLE is the latest chapter in Fivio’s fast track to hip-hop’s upper tier. In short order, Fivio found his feet with the 2019 ad-lib “Big Drip”. He then went viral on a remix of “Body” by UK rappers Russ Millions and Tion Wayne. Over the next few years, he released tracks with Nas, Drake, and French Montana. He held his own on West’s “DONDA” and Nicki Minaj’s recently released “We Go Up”.
