Heavy is the head that wears the crown, and whether or not he was ready to place it on his head, Brooklyn Drill rapper Fivio Foreign inherited it from Pop Smoke following the young rapper’s shocking death in 2020. In the two years since Pop’s passing, fans have heard more output from the late rapper than his successor due to the swiftly released posthumous albums Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon and Faith. But while fans ate up Pop Smoke’s chart-topping debut and gave a side-eye to the rushed nature of Faith, Fivio Foreign was putting in the hard work that would later justify his claim to his fallen brother’s vacated throne.
After releasing his commercial debut mixtape 800 B.C. and landing a major guest feature on Drake’s Dark Lane Demo Tapes in 2020, Fivio Foreign really stepped into the spotlight in 2021. Despite some legal complications at the top of the year, he went on to knock out popular collaborations with artists like Young M.A., deliver one of the hardest Funk Flex radio freestyles of 2021, and see his stock rise instantly with his revered “Off The Grid” verse from Kanye West’s acclaimed tenth studio album Donda. So when Fivio rapped, “Nigga, this my shit/Welcome to the city of Gods/Pop was the king of New York, now I’m the nigga in charge” on “City of Gods” back in February, it was respected. A couple of months later, Fivio Foreign’s debut studio album — which is intriguingly titled B.I.B.L.E. (Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth) as a nod to Wu-Tang Clan affiliate Killah Priest — has officially arrived, and now, the only lingering question is whether the 2020 XXL Freshman can be the king that Brooklyn Drill deserves.
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The short, easy answer is yes. B.I.B.L.E. is a strong, hour-long record that strategically aims to push Fivio Foreign deeper into the mainstream realm of Hip-Hop, and it’s loaded with high-profile guest appearances from Kanye West, A$AP Rocky, Polo G, Quavo, Ne-Yo, Chloe Bailey, and Lil Yachty, among many other popular artists. However, the longer and more critical answer comes with one major caveat. While B.I.B.L.E. does in fact justify Fivio’s claim to the throne, it also proves that the “self-made” and Grammy-nominated artist has not yet figured out the type of ruler that he wants to be. Split between the influence of his newfound mentor Ye and the crossover tactics of Pop Smoke’s double-platinum posthumous debut, Fivio Foreign ultimately created an album that dons its influences on its sleeve so much that it’s hard to recognize what his sonic identity actually is.
Many tracks on B.I.B.L.E. either borrow from the Hip-Hop/gospel aesthetic of Donda or straight-up recycle some of that album’s most memorable contributors — including Lil Yachty, KayCyy, Vory, and of course, Ye — for new guest features that drastically vary in potency. Then there are similarities between B.I.B.L.E. and Pop Smoke’s Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon. In addition to the uncanny two guest features from Quavo, Fivio Foreign’s debut follows in Pop’s footsteps by sidestepping a traditional Brooklyn Drill album format, with both a lack of contributions from well-known drill artists as well as a more radio-friendly and sample-heavy beat selection. Fortunately, the combined aesthetics of Donda and SFTSAFTM make for music that’s incredibly easy to digest and enjoy, but when considering that an artist’s debut is typically the album in which they define who they are and what make’s them special, Kanye West and Pop Smoke’s fingerprints arguably reduce the brilliance of Fivio Foreign’s grand artistic statement.
Save for some pretty undeniable collaborations such as the Vory and Polo G-assisted “Changed On Me,” the Ellie Goulding-sampling “World Watching” with Lil Tjay and Yung Bleu, the surprisingly wavy “Left Side” with Blueface, and the aforementioned Alicia Keys and Ye-assisted “City Of Gods,” B.I.B.L.E.’s greatest moments come when Fivio Foreign confidently embarks down his own path. There are only four songs on his debut album where Fivio is left entirely to his own devices, and although the majority of them have a runtime of two minutes or less, those solo tracks are the real highlights of the B.I.B.L.E. “For Nothin,” “Feel My Struggle,” and “Whoever” are all brief, yet hard-hitting demonstrations of Fivio’s distinct style and unique lyrical approach, but the four-minute closing track “Can’t Be Us” takes the quality of those three aforementioned tracks to an entirely different level. While it’s kind of wild considering that this is indeed his debut album, “Can’t Be Us” is the only full-length solo cut from Fivio over the course of 17 tracks, and it’s a shame because the anthemic track has it all — introspection, bars, a nostalgic feel, and an iconic hook. It’s one of the rare moments where the New York-bred rapper pulls back the veil of his newfound stardom to really immerse listeners into his story, and unfortunately, that’s one of B.I.B.L.E.’s most significant shortcomings.
Although it is a solid and admittedly enjoyable album that has the potential to propel Fivio Foreign to a higher level of mainstream viability, B.I.B.L.E. doesn’t fully embrace the weight of a debut rap album. Regardless of whether it’s due to a lack of direction, too many chefs in the kitchen, or Fivio’s unyielding loyalty to his beloved collaborators, B.I.B.L.E. missed the opportunity to firmly establish who the new King of Brooklyn Drill is as an artist.
In a way, the “Off The Grid” rapper did just as Ye advised on 2007’s “Homecoming,” because although he might have come a little short when reaching for the stars, he still landed comfortably amongst the clouds.