Fivio Foreign – 2020 XXL Freshman
- GOV'T NAME: Maxie Lee Ryles III
- AGE: 29
- REPPIN': Brooklyn
- TWITTER: @FivioForeign
- INSTAGRAM: @fivioforeign_8fs
- NOTABLE RELEASES: Singles: “Big Drip,” “Wetty,” “Richer Than Ever” with Rich The Kid, “Move Like a Boss” featuring Young M.A; Mixtape: 800 BC; EP: Pain and Love; Guest Appearances: Drake’s “Demons,” Tory Lanez’s “K Lo K,” Calboy’s “Rounds,” Lil Tjay’s “Zoo York,” Danileigh’s “Dominican Mami”
- LABEL: Columbia Records
- WHO ELSE SHOULD BE PART OF THIS YEAR'S CLASS: “Pop Smoke. Long live Pop Smoke. I feel like he should definitely be on here. I think they got everybody. Other than that, it’s like, my friends.”
- INFLUENCED BY: “I’m influenced by like, 50 Cent and Chief Keef ’cause they were rapping about the same things I was living.”
- AS A FRESHMAN IN HIGH SCHOOL: “I was me. I was always making jokes. Even though I’m laughing all the time, I’m watching all the time. I was observant and I got to learn people easy like that. So, I learn people good.”
TRUTH ON BEING AN XXL FRESHMAN: “I’m excited. I feel like I’m happy for the recognition. I appreciate the recognition and I appreciate the love. Thank God, viral. I hope next to have a No. 1 album. I wanna have a No. 1 album next. That’s what I hope for. I need Grammys. I want my music in movies. And then after that, I wanna be able to open the door and be able to put artists on. I got artists that rap. Run my own label and have my artists, like, friends and people that I know that’s talented, ’cause a lot of people don’t be getting a chance to get heard. So, I wanna give somebody the chance. I feel like I caught my lucky chance. They could catch they lucky chance, too.
I been rapping. I’m from the same hood as GS9. When they got on, they gave us hope, like, it could happen. So, we went hard with it at that point. I just dropped ‘Big Drip’ a year-and-a-half ago and I’m here. I feel like it wasn’t lucky because I do plan shit out, and I know what the people want. So, it’s not really luck-luck, but it’s a little more than luck because you have to plan shit out. Do shit the right way. Quality over quantity, like, give them good visuals, drip, good song, good beat, good sound…
I feel like I’m pushing the culture right now—Brooklyn drill—because we bringing it to everybody faces. We showing them where we from, we showing them how we live and we going viral. We having fun, we dancing, we doin’ it for the kids. We going viral. I wanna say to anybody that’s trying to come up and go viral, push forward. Don’t stop. Don’t wait for nobody. Do it yourself. Ask for help, but don’t wait for help. Go viral.”—Bianca Torres
FIVIO FOREIGN'S 2020 XXL FRESHMAN FREESTYLE
Fivio Foreign is quickly becoming a household name when it comes to the Brooklyn drill scene. But the collaborations with Drake ("Demons") and Nas ("Spicy") didn't come without putting in the work. The Brooklyn-bred rapper’s come a long way from the days when he frist started rapping in 2011, under the name Lite Fivio. Eight years later, in the summer of 2019, Fivi earned the biggest hit of his career so far with the gold-certified song, “Big Drip,” off his Pain and Love EP. He’s been on a hot streak ever since.
The 29-year-old rising rapper, who's scored several Billboard Hot 100 chart placements with his collaborations on Drake's "Demons" and Lil Tjay's "Zoo York," brings his own twist to Brooklyn drill. He’s best known for his fun, party-fueled bops, but Fivi’s still rapping candidly about street activity while dropping lines here and there about women and going viral. His approach and early popularity led to a label deal with Columbia Records late last year. Now, he's got a 2020 XXL Freshman honor under his belt, too.
For his 2020 XXL Freshman Class freestyle, Fivi goes a cappella, rhyming about the ladies, partying and getting invited to the Grammys. It’s exactly what fans would expect from the “Wetty” rapper. “Blue flag, button-up, Crip clothes, uh/Find a spot, make it hot, get low/I had to grow and evolve,” he delivers.
He also rolls deep ("I'm never runnin' out of liquor/I'm in the club with 100,000 niggas/Stay in the front, somebody is comin' out to get you") and uses the clout to his advantage. ("Invitation to the Grammys, uh/All this clout come in handy").
This summer, “Big Drip” served as a soundtrack for some of the recent protests against police brutality that occurred in New York City. The song was used by protestors as a song of celebration during the marches. In an interview with XXL, Fivi says, “I feel like I’m pushing the culture right now—Brooklyn drill—because we bringing it to everybody faces. We showing them where we from, we showing them how we live and we going viral.”
This past spring, the 2020 XXL Freshman released his project, 800 BC, and has become a go-to rapper for features while coining signature ad-libs like “aye,” “movie,” “bow” and “viral.” Aside from jumping on tracks such as Drake’s “Demons” and Lil Tjay’s “Zoo York,” he's lon Tory Lanez’s “K Lo K,” Calboy’s “Rounds,” Pop Smoke’s “Showing Off, Pt. 2” and DaniLeigh’s “Dominican Mami.”
When asked what his goals for the future are, Fivio shares, “I hope next to have a No. 1 album. I wanna have a No. 1 album next. That’s what I hope for. I need Grammys.”
This is just the beginning for Fivio Foreign, whose name was inspired by the popular 1990's Italian actor and model Fabio Lanzoni. Fivi’s personality is just as inviting as his music. When he’s not in the studio, the charismatic rapper is cracking jokes and posting his drip on Instagram. If you don’t know about him, now's the time to get started.
Peep Fivio Foreign's 2020 XXL Freshman freestyle, powered by Rap Caviar, below.—B.T.
FIVIO FOREIGN'S ABCs
Fivio Foreign is one of New York City’s bubbling Brooklyn drill rappers. He’s made a name for himself since dropping his regional hit “Big Drip” in the summer of 2019. With high-profile collabs on songs with Drake ("Demons") and Nas ("Spicy"), his track "Wetty" proving he has more solo hits in his catalog and an appearance on Lil Tjay's "Zoo York" keeping his voice ringing throughout the Big Apple, he's solidified his spot as a 2020 XXL Freshman. If there's one thing he's known for other than his music, it’s his humor. You can often find him showing off his comedic side on Instagram. And, you see just that in Fivi’s version of XXL's ABCs.
While watching a video of someone reciting the alphabet may seem weird, when Fivio Foreign's doing it, it’s pure entertainment. Fivi says the hilarious things that come to his mind for each letter. The 2020 XXL Freshman starts off exactly how fans would expect him to, “B, bow,” he says, referring to his own ad-lib. “F, Fivi,” then he goes into how he got his rap moniker. "I got my name ’cause my man Dot called me Fabio ’cause, like, feel me, I was good with the bitches...," he adds. "I ain't know who Fabio was, right, so I thought he was sayin' Fivio." The 29-year-old artist is referring to popular 1990's Italian actor and model Fabio Lanzoni.
As Fivio gets further along in the alphabet, things gets funnier and funnier. He finds a way to incorporate something about himself in almost every letter of the alphabet. “I, intelligent," he states. "I am intelligent, little do y’all know."
“M, movie,” Fivio shares before telling the story of how and why he ended up using that word—repeatedly—as both an ad-lib in his music and everyday conversation. "One day, I was just drunk... I make everything up when I'm drunk," he begins. "How I started using movie, I just felt like everything was a movie. Like the cameras was out, I saw the lights. I said, 'Nah, this is a movie. We goin' viral.' And I kept it like that."
When he gets to P, Fivi pays respect to his friend and fallen rapper, the late Pop Smoke.
If you want a good laugh, watch Fivio Foreign’s ABCs below.—B.T.
FIVIO FOREIGN, MULATTO, CALBOY AND 24KGOLDN'S 2020 XXL FRESHMAN CYPHER
When you’re putting on for the rap game, it’s imperative that you have representation from the most popular regions. In this year’s 2020 XXL Freshman cypher, the talent in all four musical goldmines is illustrated. Mulatto holds it down for Atlanta, 24kGoldn reps for the West Coast, Fivio Foreign walks with New York City’s drip by his side like a pocket and Calboy is grounded by his roots in Chicago.
Over a riveting string-led beat crafted by Grammy Award-nominated, South Carolina-bred producer Jetsonmade, who’s been racking up plaques like a set of molars that sat overnight, the group feeds off each other’s energy in each bar and showcases their unique rap styles that landed them on this year’s Freshman cover.
Following “baow” and “viral” ad-libs ringing from Fivio in the background, ATL's Mulatto is the ace who sets the pace. She kisses the beat and proceeds by putting it in a body bag, spitting about her ability to rap on the mic and to guys like her co-freshman Fivio.
“I don’t gotta rap about sex/But this shit way too good not to brag on/I ain’t even fuck a rap nigga yet, but if Fivio want to then I ain’t gon’ pass on ’em/Yeah, bitch, I get my mack on/He ain’t trickin’, I skip ’em like bad songs/I just dropped a hundred on jewelry during a pandemic, yeah, my money that long," she rhymes.
Next, the pivot is to the West for 24kGoldn’s turn. The San Francisco rapper and XXL Freshman 10th spot winner energetically drops in with the same sing-song flow that turned “Valentino” and the Iann Dior-featured “Mood” into Billboard chart-climbing songs and viral hits. In his vibrant-colored outfit and bell bottom jeans, he proclaims that he’s undeniable right now and makes note that everyone else in the cypher is, too.
“Got your girl TikTokin' to my shit/I see Fivi in the cut, Woo walkin' in this bitch/I see Cal gettin’ wild, see the style too legit/And Mulatto she a queen, put a crown on that head,” he delivers.
Brooklyn's own Fivio Foreign taps in after, hitting a slight side to side jig in his silk designer drip as he steadily finds his pocket. With the innate ability to make everything catchy, he looks over and acknowledges Mulatto’s earlier name-drop before vowing to keep his haters on high alert.
“I sit in the seat and I catch it if she throw it to me/They fallin' asleep, but I never let ’em fumble the dream/Yeah, and I’ll never let ’em humble the king/Look, that’s coming from me, I call up movers and they coming at three, glttt, baow,” he raps.
Lastly, we slide to Calboy, who with Polo G, joins the rich lineage of Chicago rappers that have made the XXL Freshman list. The platinum-selling rapper puts his head down and gets right to business, addressing the insomnia that comes with stacking money the long way. Even sleep-deprived, he reminds people that he’s awake enough to make that Nina sing if it must.
“I ain’t been getting no sleep ’cause nigga I’m trappin' a lot, aye/No, I’m not talkin’ ’bout Polo, but niggas be cappin’ a lot, aye/I gotta ride with that Nina ’cause niggas be yappin’ a lot, aye/I got some aim with that glizzy I’ll blow his lil cap off his top, for real” he serves.
As the entrancing beat rides out, Fivio Foreign confidently declares that no one is touching this class: “2020 Freshman, this the best one.”
Watch Mulatto, 24kGoldn, Fivio Foreign and Calboy’s 2020 XXL Freshman cypher below.—Kemet High
See the 2020 XXL Freshman Class