Album Review: Fivio Foreign Falls Short With ‘B.I.B.L.E.’

Regrettably, one of the inevitable and seemingly unavoidable ramifications of the mainstream’s embrace of a given subculture or subgenre is a flattening of the edge that gave the subculture the bite that anchored its allure. That’s what is happening, or what has happened, rather, with drill. As Brooklyn drill artists have conquered everywhere from Canarsie to Top 40 radio, the sound and culture have become simultaneously demonized (hello, Eric Adams) and sanitized by the establishment. Following the untimely passing of Pop Smoke, pivotal guest appearances alongside Drake (“Demons”) and Kanye West (“Off the Grid”), and inimitable hit singles of his own (“Big Drip,” “Zoo York”), Fivio Foreign has been thrust into the forefront as Brooklyn drill’s premier artist. Placing Fivio as Brooklyn drill’s ambassador is an intriguing choice, but it’s also an understandable one. Yes, he’s charismatic, — who hasn’t fallen prey to his infectious “baow!” ad-lib? — but he’s also proven to be the most willing of Brooklyn drill’s artists to cater and bend to the mainstream. His debut album, B.I.B.LE., is a painfully obvious play for mainstream dominance that sacrifices integrity and ingenuity for an offering of a vapid McDonaldsfied version of drill.

Executive produced by Kanye West, B.I.B.L.E. is subtly cast in the shadow of the legendary rapper-producer instead of basking in the warmth of Fivio’s formal introduction/alleged coronation. “City of Gods,” the album’s lead single, is the only song West has individual production credits for, yet it’s indicative of what B.I.B.L.E. tends to reach for and fails to grasp. “City of Gods” attempts to channel the energy of “Empire State of Mind” with its soaring Alicia Keys hook and verses that are fondly reflective of New York City. Nevertheless, it all feels a bit too premature. “Pop was the King of New York / Now, I’m the nigga in charge,” he raps in the song’s first verse. This album’s penchant for maximalist pop drill moments leaves little room for the rougher edges of drill that round out its unique capacity for storytelling. Furthermore, those pop drill moments are overly reliant on sample flips that are everything but inventive. “What’s My Name,” a collaboration with Queen Naija and Coi Leray, blandly reimagines Destiny’s Child’s seminal “Say My Name” into a cheap, but ultimately catchy, addition to the sample drill lexicon. “Love Songs,” drowsily flips Ne-Yo’s “So Sick” into a rumination on sneaky links that strikes a slyly solid balance of vulgarity and comedy. There’s also “World Watching,” a sorely missed opportunity to truly transform Ellie Goulding’s “Lights,” one of the best pop songs of the last decade. Instead, we’re left with a lazy sample that further casts Fivio and B.I.B.L.E. in Kanye’s legacy.

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Every Kanye fan knows that his “lights” tracks are among his best and most beloved. “Highlights,” “Flashing Lights,” All of the Lights,” the “lights” tracks just don’t miss. “World Watching” is one of the more subtle moments of Kanye’s influence as the “lights” motif appears by way of a sample, but the album’s first two songs are dripping with Kanye’s touch. “On God” invokes the hollow gospel of Donda with its juxtaposition of sparse production against melodramatic strings, a hint of a choir, and a downcast Auto-Tuned hook. Similarly, “Through the Fire,” which samples Chaka Khan’s iconic song of the same name, is a reflective number that reveals just how closely the possibility and inevitability of death looms over the album and Fivio’s life. “I just pray when I die that I get my wings,” he raps solemnly. Kanye famously sampled “Through The Fire” on “Through The Wire,” the legendary lead single for his debut studio album The College Dropout. If anything, Fivio’s take on the sample grants us a memorable full-circle hip-hop moment.

Outside of Kanye’s fingerprints and the unimpressive dependence on rudimentary sample flips, B.I.B.L.E. is far too crowded. A litany of guest artists swarms the tracklist with contributions that inspire little more than a head bop or two. Quavo (who unfortunately appears twice), Kaycyy, Vory, Chlöe, Blueface, Polo G, Lil Yachty, A$AP Rocky, Lil Tjay, Yung Bleu, Ne-Yo, Alicia Keys, and DJ Khaled all lend their voices to B.I.B.L.E. Just four of the album’s seventeen tracks feature Fivio on his lonesome with the first of them appearing just before the album’s midpoint. For an album that’s supposed to act as Fivio’s coronation, he rarely grants himself an opportunity to stand on his own two feet. When given the chance, the results are predictably fruitful. “For Nothin” and “Feel My Struggle” are some of the album’s stronger moments, but both lack the bite and urgency of last year’s standalone singles like “Story Time.”

If the goal was to create a dull, easily digestible, and unambitious project, then B.I.B.L.E. is a resounding success. If the goal was to properly crown Fivio as the current King of Drill and deliver a debut album that effectively introduces him as an artist and person, B.I.B.L.E. falters on all fronts. There will surely be hits from this album, but it’s nothing short of a disappointment from an artist who has proven that he is capable of so much more.

Key Tracks: “What’s My Name” | “Through The Fire” | “For Nothin” | “Hello” | “On God”

Score: 50