Fivio Foreign hails from East Flatbush, Brooklyn. It’s the neighbourhood where Bobby Shmurda’s GS9 collective rose to prominence—Fivio and GS9’s Rowdy Rebel grew up in the very same building. Fivio had rapped casually since his early twenties, but watching GS9 go viral from East Flatbush with their early Brooklyn Drill sound showed Fivio how far music—his borough’s adopted sound—could take him.

He became close with Pop Smoke, who grew up near East Flatbush in neighbouring Canarsie, while both started to bubble underground. By Autumn in 2019, each rapper had a viral single to their name—Fivio’s ‘Big Drip’ and Pop Smoke’s ‘Welcome to the Party’—but it was Smoke’s run of back-to-back hits (from ‘Dior’ to ‘Gatti’ and ‘Christopher Walking’) that would take the Brooklyn Drill sound to the US mainstream. For Fivio, a string of features on tracks like Drake’s ‘Demons’ and Lil Tjay’s ‘Zoo York‘ led to a major deal with Columbia records, but his rise was marred with personal tragedy. After his mother died in 2018 from stroke complications, he experienced a period of homelessness. And in February, Pop Smoke was killed during a home invasion in Los Angeles, leaving Fivio the most prominent face of Brooklyn Drill.

With his latest EP 800 BC, Fivio showcases more of his high-energy, ad-lib riddled take on the genre. Add a spot on this year’s XXL Freshman List, a new house outside of the city, and a debut album just about finished, it’s easy to see why Fivio’s not mad at 2020. We jumped on a Zoom call between locked-down Melbourne and New York to talk to the Flatbush native about the upcoming album, the legacy of Pop Smoke, and the G.O.A.T bodega order.

Talk to me about your newest single ‘13 Going On 30’, it feels a new direction for you, it’s a little more personal.

I don’t really be getting too personal on my songs, but this was one I felt a little personal about. I just wanted to give them one, at least one, where I feel like it’s me. Becauses sometimes we go through emotions. Some days it might be a party day, but we aren’t going to sit here and act like everyday's a party day, or everyday is a good day. Sometimes we get in our feelings, and lately I feel like I’ve been in my feelings a lot, you know what I mean? Shit is getting touchy.

Your life has changed in the last six months, man. It’s cool to hear you really telling your story on a track.

Yeah, hell yeah. It’s been crazy. I don’t usually do that, but I am ready to go viral. [Grrt! Bow!]

I know you say viral a lot. Can you tell me where that comes from?

Oh! One day I said to myself “I’m about to make a movie.” Every time I turned around I just kept saying “movie.” I kept saying that shit, and then one day I just kept saying “I’m going to go viral.” And I always say “BOW” because I got tourettes, so I go like “BOW!”

That’s a good one to say. It just feels good. BOW.

Yeah, it feels good to say it. Like BOW! [Laughs]

I feel it. So, I know you’re in album mode at the moment. How’s it all coming along?

Definitely in album mode. I feel like the album is going to be crazy, fucking crazy. I get to really express myself in a different way that I never have before. I have never put this much work into nothing musical before. I always tried to try to learn how to play drums, or to learn how to play the guitar. I went halfway with the piano. I’m so all over the place, I can’t focus on one thing for too long. But with this album, I feel focused. This shit is an instrument, your voice and your words and your brain. I'm trying to master this shit more.

How far along is the record?

Oh, I think it’s finished. I’m just waiting on a couple of features to come back and I’ll be done. We good.

Has making an album in 2020 been a blessing or a curse?

Definitely a blessing. I get a lot more time to sit there and think. My music is based off of shit that has happened to me, I use my life to influence my songs. So, with nothing really going on I gotta really channel my brain and thoughts. It is a blessing though, I really thank God for all this. I know this is all God, and that my Mom is looking out for me.

For sure. I wanted to talk about the Drill sound with you. The movement is growing, the sound is growing. There’s a big drill scene popping out here in Australia right now, too.

Oh, yeah. They was telling me about the Australian Drill rap, that shit’s fire! That’s fire to me to see that shit all over the world like that. I wish it was even bigger.

I think it will be, I’m trying to see some Japanese Drill.

Hell yeah, the Japanese drill! That shit would be heavy fire. I feel like I give off the vibe of “If Fivi can do it, I can too.” I make people feel like they could do it. I make it look so effortless, and it’s true, niggas could do it. It’s easy, it’s really not that hard.

Tell me about being asked to jump on the Drake track. How did that feel?

I always prepare myself for the worst. In my mind, I thought that shit probably would never come out. I just did it thinking like, it’s Drake you know what I mean? When that shit came out, I was like "Oh shit, shoutout to fucking Drake. He just really put us on.”

I wanted to ask you about Pop Smoke. What sort of impact did he have on you?

That’s family bro. That’s home-team. We got all the same friends. I look at a lot of the shit he did and I pay homage. When you get to the level [he reached] you ain’t got nobody to guide you—because we [artists] don’t always know where we are going. He was doing everything first, so I could look at him and think “Ok, this is how it goes, then this after that,” or even try to do it better the next time, you feel me? Pop didn’t have that, he was just doing it and he was good at it. He was going viral. So I always paid my respects to Pop. His shit was different, it was special. It makes me want to work harder.

For sure. I wanted to talk about the Drill sound with you. The movement is growing, the sound is growing. There’s a big drill scene popping out here in Australia right now, too.

Oh, yeah. They was telling me about the Australian Drill rap, that shit’s fire! That’s fire to me to see that shit all over the world like that. I wish it was even bigger.

I think it will be, I’m trying to see some Japanese Drill.

Hell yeah, the Japanese drill! That shit would be heavy fire. I feel like I give off the vibe of “If Fivi can do it, I can too.” I make people feel like they could do it. I make it look so effortless, and it’s true, niggas could do it. It’s easy, it’s really not that hard.

Tell me about being asked to jump on the Drake track. How did that feel?

I always prepare myself for the worst. In my mind, I thought that shit probably would never come out. I just did it thinking like, it’s Drake you know what I mean? When that shit came out, I was like "Oh shit, shoutout to fucking Drake. He just really put us on.”

I wanted to ask you about Pop Smoke. What sort of impact did he have on you?

That’s family bro. That’s home-team. We got all the same friends. I look at a lot of the shit he did and I pay homage. When you get to the level [he reached] you ain’t got nobody to guide you—because we [artists] don’t always know where we are going. He was doing everything first, so I could look at him and think “Ok, this is how it goes, then this after that,” or even try to do it better the next time, you feel me? Pop didn’t have that, he was just doing it and he was good at it. He was going viral. So I always paid my respects and to Pop. His shit was different, it was special. It makes me want to work harder.

You started a foundation recently to help people in your community. Can you tell us a little more about that?

Yeah, Foreignside Foundation. I started a foundation so people have somebody to talk to. If you go to my website, you just chat to somebody that’s always willing to chat with you, go viral with you, and give you some good advice. I came up with the idea because I just know how life can get. I thought about myself, and about the life choices people make, probably making the wrong choices sometimes. Now I know that there’s another way through all that shit. I’m in a new space, I got people who listen to me, and I just want to help [other people] make good choices.

That’s great, man. You have a spot on the new Nas album. A$AP Ferg is on that track too, it’s almost like three generations of New York.

Yeah, facts. Shout out big bro Nas man. [My team] was in the studio, and we happened to be in the same studio as Nas. They were like “Yo, Nas is in the next room, do you wanna meet Nas?” and I was like “Nas ain’t in the next room, that’s crazy.” I went over there, really met Nas. He was good. He’s an original old head, like one of my uncles, you know what I mean? He was cool. Smooth. Sweatsuit on, you know how the old heads be doin it. [Laughs]

An icon. Speaking of icons. I saw a tweet from you that said ever since you read 50 Cent's book you have been smart as shit. Can you tell me something you took away from Hustle Harder, Hustle Smarter?

[Laughs] Yeah, 50 Cent gave me a book. There’s a part in there where he says if there’s one person in this world that he would bet on, it would be himself. I don’t know exactly how it was written in the book, but he said as long as he bets on himself, he’s always going to win. 50 Cent is smart and he’s successful and I like the way he thinks, so I take what he says into consideration.

2020 has been a wild ride. I want to know what you’re looking forward to when the world opens up again. Have you traveled outside the US before?

Nope. I been to Canada, to Prince Edward Island when I was mad young. I was like twelve or some shit, my mother put me in something called Fresh Air Fund, you know what that is?

No, what is it? 

That’s where like, kids from the hood—or whatever-whatever—they get a chance to go live with somebody that’s not from the hood. You go somewhere far out. I went to Connecticut to live with this family called the Bentley family.

Was it a shock to you coming from Brooklyn?

Nah, I loved it. I wanted to go back there every year, to the same family. I definitely got along with them.

As a New Yorker, I need to know your go-to Bodega order. If you could pick three items, what are you going to get?

I go in the store and I get a water. Order a sandwich, the sandwich is honey-glazed turkey, lettuce, tomato, salt, pepper, vinegar, mayonnaise on both sides of the bread. [Laughs] And some chips. Water, sandwich, and chips and I’m good to go. That’s a fact.

Last question, what can you say to your fans who are stuck in lockdown, waiting for things to get better?

Oh listen man, make the best out of this situation. Find a little something so that when you come out of this shit, you know you’re ready to come out on top. This is thinking time. Everybody should try and use their brain a hundred per cent, you know what I mean? Think, use this time to learn, to teach yourself.

WORDS: CASS NAVARRO

PHOTOGRAPHY: ANDRE L PERRY

Stream the new mixtape ‘800 BC’ now.

Interview has been edited for clarity and length.