5ive Mics has seen it all and done it all. He came up from New York and knew everybody. He used to freestyle with Nicki Minaj in Coney Island. He caught LL Cool J on the streets back in the day and played him his music, and the legend was rocking with it. He helped introduce Drake to T.I. for the first time. People don’t know the extent of how deep his ties run.
Now, 5ive Mics is ready to become a star in his own right. He is releasing a tape with Dj Whoo Kid that will have everybody on it, including Akon and a verse from LL Cool J himself, who 5ive considers the most important rapper ever. He dropped by the rolling out studios to talk about his musical journey and what we can expect from him in 2025.
What inspired you or pushed you to take music seriously?
Rest in peace. My uncle, Clay Evans. You know what I’m saying he’s a person that inspired me to do music a lot. This has been my passion for a long time. And not just being a rapper, just being an entertainer. So to be able to have an opportunity to do so is just. This is all dream come true stuff. And I feel like what pushes me is my daughter and God
One of your hottest songs of 2024 is “Drip Check” featuring Jim Jones. How did that record come together?
I’m getting the vibes that the young generation is messing with “Drip Check.” And my thing is good music has no age limit. Good music is good music. I always tell people when you play a Sammy Davis Jr. Song or Stevie Wonder, it don’t matter what year it is, you’re gonna feel it. It doesn’t matter if it’s Motown, you know what I’m saying? So that’s the same thing with good hip-hop music. And I just think that me and Jim Jones hit a frequency with that record. Shout out to DJ Profluent. We just want to bring a certain sound back to hip-hop that I feel like is required. It doesn’t have to sound old school. The records don’t have to sound old school, you know what I’m saying?
Being from New York performing at the Apollo and SOB’s must’ve been a full circle moment?
No, it was surreal. And then I’ve performed in a lot of places. Shout out to the legendary SOBs. You know, if you’re in New York, coming up that’s just a place you have to perform. But we didn’t only perform at the Apollo. Oh, we sold it out. We had people lined up down the street. You know what I’m saying?
You got a LL Cool J verse, not a lot of people get that. Do you have any funny LL Cool J stories?
LL Cool J is gangster, man. In real life. Like, he’s gangster. He’s from Queens. He’s a stand-up dude. He’s very humble. But LL Cool J stole my girl one time. LL Cool J shows, first of all, are intense. If you don’t know, LL Cool J is performing the f-ck out of these songs. And back in the days when he’d perform “I Need Love,” and I don’t know if he still does it, but I was at Foxwoods Casino. He probably remembers this. At Foxwoods Casino. I’ll never forget. I was in the crowd, man. LL Cool J comes, and this is my favorite rapper. But LL Cool J pulled out roses and, like, “I Need Love” came on, and he gave my girl a rose. So she took the rose. I’m like, “Don’t you take that damn rose!” And she took the f–king rose.
Then LL was like, yo, all the beautiful women that I gave roses to come up on stage. I was like, no. And she went up there still. I wish I could tell you what he’s doing up there, but they go up there, and they made the boyfriends and the side niggas and whoever was with the girls meet them backstage. So I go backstage, like, where my girl at? I get back there, she got the LL Cool J Kangol hat on. She got the LL Cool J joint on and it’s dripping with sweat. He just performed 50 songs. Then LL comes over like, what’s up? I’m like, “You took my girl!” So that was a great experience, legendary experience. And that’s how it is when you f–king with the icons.
