Nav (rapper)
Nav | |
---|---|
Born | Navraj Singh Goraya November 3, 1989 |
Education | Thistletown Collegiate Institute |
Alma mater | Metalworks Institute |
Occupations |
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Years active | 2014–present |
Musical career | |
Genres | |
Labels | |
Website | navmusic |
Navraj Singh Goraya (born November 3, 1989), known professionally as Nav, is a Punjabi-Canadian rapper and record producer. Nav originally began his career as a producer, co-producing fellow Canadian rapper Drake's single, "Back to Back", in 2015. He then gained mainstream attention in 2016 when his song "Myself" went viral on SoundCloud. Nav is signed to Canadian singer the Weeknd's record label XO and its parent label, Republic Records, and is managed by XO managers Amir "Cash" Esmailian and Wassim "Sal" Slaiby.
In 2017, Nav released his
Early life
Navraj Singh Goraya was born on November 3, 1989, in
Career
On July 29, 2015, fellow Canadian rapper and singer Drake released the single "Back to Back", which Nav helped co-produce. On September 4, 2015, Nav released one of his earliest singles on SoundCloud and YouTube, "Take Me Simple", which has accumulated over eighteen million listens. He released the single "Ten Toes Down" (abbreviated as "TTD" on streaming services) on SoundCloud and YouTube on December 15, 2015. In 2016, another one of his SoundCloud and YouTube-exclusive singles, "The Man", was played on Drake's OVO Sound Radio.[6][7] On January 12, 2016, Nav released the single "Myself" on SoundCloud and YouTube, which quickly became his biggest song at the time, earning him numerous cosigns, including one from American model and internet personality Kylie Jenner. On June 4, 2016, he released the single "Up" on SoundCloud and YouTube. Following the popularity of the singles, he was signed to XO and Republic Records, after being called by his now-manager Amir "Cash" Esmailian.[8] On September 2, 2016, Nav was featured on and solely produced the single "Beibs in the Trap" by Travis Scott, as part of the latter's second studio album, Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight, in which the song reached number 90 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and was eventually certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) after selling over two million copies.[9][10] On December 24, 2016, American record producer Metro Boomin, who helped produce "Up", took to Twitter to announce that he and Nav would be releasing a collaborative project in 2017. On February 15, 2017, Nav released his debut single, "Some Way" featuring the Weeknd, who is his label boss from XO, as the lead single from his self-titled debut mixtape, which was released exactly nine days later. Exactly, one week after the release of the single, Nav tweeted that his collaborative mixtape with Metro Boomin would be titled Perfect Timing. "Myself" was chosen as the second and final single from Nav's self-titled mixtape as it was sent to rhythmic contemporary radio on April 11, 2017.[11] On July 14, 2017, Nav and Metro Boomin released "Perfect Timing (Intro)" and "Call Me", the dual lead singles of Perfect Timing, which was released exactly a week later.[12]
2018–2019: Reckless and Bad Habits
On November 7, 2017, Nav was featured on the single "
On November 2, 2018, Nav released the single "
On March 27, 2020, Nav released a collaboration with Gunna titled "
On June 27, 2022, Nav shared that his fourth studio album would be titled Demons Protected by Angels. On July 29, he released a collaboration with Lil Baby as the album's lead single titled "Never Sleep" featuring Travis Scott.[39] Nav solely produced the second single produced by Ltmeat Rocky, "Wrong Decisions", which was released on August 23, 2022.[40] The album was released on September 9, 2022, and a collaboration with Don Toliver, "One Time", featuring Future, was chosen as the third single four days later.[41] On October 1, 2022, Nav shared that he would be releasing his third commercial mixtape, Nav2, a sequel to his self-titled mixtape, which was released back in 2017.[42] On February 10, 2023, he released the single "Lately", which is expected to serve as the lead single from the mixtape.[43] On May 21, 2023, Metro Boomin joined Nav onstage during the latter's performance at the Metro Metro Festival in Montreal, which was before his own set at the festival, in which the two announced that their collaborative mixtape, Perfect Timing 2, which was originally announced in 2018, would be released soon.[44] Exactly ten days later, Nav released a collaboration with Metro Boomin and Swae Lee titled "Calling" featuring A Boogie wit da Hoodie, which later appeared on Metro's first soundtrack album, which was for the film Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.[45] In a short interview in June 2023, Nav announced that he is currently working on his upcoming fifth studio album and sequels to three of his previously-released mixtapes: Nav2, Emergency Tsunami 2, and Perfect Timing 2 (with Metro Boomin).
Controversies
In June 2017, Nav had received backlash from some members of his musical audience for usage of the word "nigga" in his songs such as on "My Mind", "TTD", and other songs.
In March 2018, Nav had publicly criticized XXL through a series of tweets and Instagram posts along with releasing the single, "Freshman List".[48] His main reason for criticizing the magazine was due to not being selected for the 2018 freshman cover. In his tweets, Nav shared his thoughts that had ranged "from angry and bitter to motivational and inspirational". After his tweets and release of the single, Nav began addressing the outlet's editor-in-chief Vanessa Satten through now deleted Instagram posts and further continued to criticize the outlet.[49]
In August 2018, Nav featured on Travis Scott's third studio album, Astroworld, on the song "Yosemite" alongside fellow rapper Gunna. He was the subject of many memes mocking his feature; Nav's four vocal lines at the end of the song were initially mixed at a very low volume. Nav himself shared a meme on his Instagram. Scott and producer Mike Dean later confirmed this was an error, and re-mixed and re-released the track on streaming services with the updated vocal mix a week after the release of the song and album.[50][51]
In March 2019 during an interview with Pitchfork, Nav expressed his frustration stating that "Fame is something I want, it's a good problem to have. I'm still not there, because when I walk out of fucking Delilah in L.A. and TMZ will be standing out there with cameras and not even take a picture of me, I get sick. I get in my fucking Lambo truck right in front of them. All my jewelry on and they don't even take one picture."[52] However, he later clarified that this was taken out of context, as "sick" is in fact a positive term in Toronto slang, and rather than being disgusted for not being recognized, he is grateful to still have anonymity as a celebrity.[53] Nav further stated in the Pitchfork interview that he hoped his latest project, Bad Habits would help him become more noticed by TMZ along with other paparazzi. A week later, TMZ found Nav in New York and did a brief video interview with him, asking him questions about his chain-snatching situation with Lil Uzi Vert.[54]
Discography
Studio albums
- Reckless (2018)
- Bad Habits (2019)
- Good Intentions (2020)
- Demons Protected by Angels (2022)
Concert tours
- Headlining
- Freshman Tour (2018)
- Bad Habits Tour (2019)
- Never Sleep Tour (2023)
- Supporting
- The Weeknd – Starboy: Legend of the Fall Tour (2017)
- Schoolboy Q – Crash Tour (2019)
Awards and nominations
Year | Awards | Category | Work | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
2018 | Juno Award | Breakthrough Artist of the Year | Nominated | |
2019 | Juno Award | Fan Choice | Nominated | |
Rap Recording of the Year | Reckless | Nominated | ||
2020 | Juno Award | Fan Choice[55] | Nominated | |
Rap Recording of the Year[55] | Bad Habits | Nominated |
References
- ^ a b "Nav Is the "First Brown Boy to Get It Popping" and His Meteoric Rise Is Far From Over". Complex.com. Archived from the original on October 14, 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
His parents are from Punjab, India.
- ^ "Nav: Meet the Toronto Rapper-Producer Opening the Weeknd's Starboy Tour". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 14, 2017. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
- ^ Carter, Brooke (August 5, 2017). "Nav Net Worth – How Wealthy is the Rapper Now? – The Gazette Review". The Gazette Review. Archived from the original on October 20, 2017. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
- ^ "Alumni Update: JUNO Award Nominations 2018, Metalworks Institute". Metalworks Institute. February 9, 2018. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
- ^ NAV used to be an electrician😱, retrieved November 16, 2023 Interview with Nav by Our Generation Music
- ^ "Drake – OVO Sound Radio Episode 13 Tracklist". Genius.com. Archived from the original on August 17, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
- ^ "Drake – OVO Sound Radio Episode 16 Tracklist". Genius.com. Archived from the original on August 17, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
- ^ Simmons, Ted (February 16, 2017). "Nav Signs Deal With The Weeknd's XO Records". XXL. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
- ^ "Travis Scott Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 26, 2018. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
- ^ "Travis Scott & Nav's "Biebs In The Trap" Just Went Platinum". HYPEBEAST. Archived from the original on October 20, 2017. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
- ^ "Rhythmic/Urban Radio Update". April 12, 2017 – via Fashionably.
- ^ "Nav and Metro Boomin Drop 'Perfect Timing' Project – XXL". XXL Mag. July 21, 2017. Archived from the original on February 1, 2018. Retrieved January 31, 2018.
- ^ Lamarre, Carl (November 10, 2017). "Nav & Lil Uzi Vert Blast Their Past Relationships on 'Wanted You'". Billboard. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
- ^ "Arcade Fire and Daniel Caesar lead 2018 Juno Award nominations" Archived February 8, 2018, at the Wayback Machine. CBC Music, February 6, 2018.
- ^ Mojica, Nick (March 16, 2018). "Nav Wants the Rookie of the Year Crown on New Song "Freshman List"". XXL. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
- ^ Zidel, Alex (April 5, 2018). "Belly & Nav Are Out Here Trying To "Maintain" In New Single". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
- ^ Saponara, Michael (May 18, 2018). "Stream NAV's Debut Album 'Reckless,' Feat. Travis Scott, Quavo & Lil Uzi Vert". Billboard. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
- ^ "Nav's Debut Album 'Reckless' Is Here". Complex. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
- ^ "Top 40 Rhythmic Future Releases | R&B Song and Hip-Hop Music Release Dates | ..." June 14, 2018. Archived from the original on June 14, 2018. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
- ^ Findlay, Mitch (November 12, 2018). "Travis Scott Picks "Yosemite" As Next "Astroworld" Single". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
- ^ Arcand, Rob (August 12, 2018). "Travis Scott Updates Final Mix of Astroworld Song 'Yosemite'". Spin. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
- ^ Espinoza, Joshua (November 2, 2018). "Nav Drops New Single "Know Me"". Complex. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
- ^ Slingerland, Calum (March 21, 2019). "NAV Gets Meek Mill, Young Thug, the Weeknd for 'Bad Habits' Album". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved March 21, 2019.
- ^ Chin, Mallory (March 26, 2019). "Nav Drops Future-Assisted Track on Deluxe Edition of 'Bad Habits'". HYPEBEAST. Archived from the original on April 16, 2019. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
- ^ Saponara, Michael (March 26, 2019). "Nav Connects With Future for 'Amazing,' Releases 'Bad Habits' Deluxe Edition". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 24, 2019. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
- ^ Legaspi, Althea (March 26, 2019). "Nav, the Weeknd's Toronto Hometown Burns in 'Price on My Head' Video". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
The single appears on Nav's sophomore studio album, Bad Habits.
- ^ Caulfield, Keith (March 31, 2019). "NAV Nets First No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart With 'Bad Habits'". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 5, 2019. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
- ^ Caulfied, Keith (March 29, 2019). "NAV's 'Bad Habits' Set for No. 1 Debut on Billboard 200 Albums Chart". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 30, 2019. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
- ^ "Top 40 Rhythmic Future Releases". All Access Media Group. Archived from the original on May 5, 2019. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
- ^ Devin Ch (June 30, 2019). "Mustard Floods "Baguettes In The Face" Of NAV, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie & Playboi Carti". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
- ^ "NAV, Gunna & Travis Scott Join Forces Again on 'Turks'". Billboard. March 27, 2020. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
- ^ "Nav and Shanender share "Turks" featuring Travis Scott". The FADER. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
- ^ "Audiomack | Free Music Sharing and Discovery".
- ^ "Nav Connects With Virgil Abloh, VLONE, and nWo on 'Good Intentions' Album Merch". Complex. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
- ^ Marke, Erika (August 14, 2020). "Internet Money Taps Gunna, Nav, & Don Toliver For "Lemonade"". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
- ^ "NAV Announces New Mixtape 'Emergency Tsunami'". Exclaim!. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
- ^ "NAV Adds Future Collab To 'Emergency Tsunami' For Bonus Version Mixtape". HipHopDX. November 11, 2020. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
- ^ "Top 40 Rhythmic Future Releases". AllAccess. Archived from the original on January 4, 2021.
- ^ Espinoza, Joshua (July 29, 2022). "Nav Reconnects With Travis Scott and Lil Baby on "Never Sleep"". Complex. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
- ^ Shifferaw, Abel (August 23, 2022). "Nav Shares Video for New Track "Wrong Decisions"". Complex. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
- Hypebeast. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
Following the release of his most recent album Demons Protected By Angels, NAV has dropped new visuals for his single "One Time" featuring Future and Don Toliver.
- ^ @beatsbynav (October 1, 2022). "Nav announces Nav2" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Cowen, Trace William (February 10, 2023). "Nav Teases Upcoming 'Nav 2' Album With New Track "Lately"". Complex. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
- ^ Hynes, Hayley (May 23, 2023). "Metro Boomin Confirms "Perfect Timing 2" Album With NAV: Video". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
- ^ Fisher, Caroline (May 31, 2023). "Metro Boomin, NAV, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, And Swae Lee Join Forces On "Calling"". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
- ^ "Why We Can't Give South Asian Artists Who Say The N-Word A Pass". March 5, 2017. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
- ^ "NAV Says He's Done Using the N-Word in His Music". Archived from the original on May 24, 2019. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
- ^ "Nav Debuts "Freshman List" Single Ahead of Tour". HNHH. March 15, 2018.
- ^ "Nav Blasts XXL's Editor-In-Chief, Says Freshmen List & Website is Trash". March 20, 2018.
- Complex. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
- UPROXX. April 7, 2020. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
- ^ "Lunch with Nav". Pitchfork. March 27, 2019. Archived from the original on May 3, 2019. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
- ^ "Nav Talks Working With Lil Uzi Vert, "Yosemite" Vocals & Haters". YouTube. Archived from the original on November 18, 2021. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
- ^ "Canadian Rapper Nav on TMZ is Finally a Thing". Archived from the original on April 1, 2019. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
- ^ a b "Juno Awards: The Weeknd Scores Leading 6 Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. March 9, 2021. Retrieved March 12, 2021.