Nav (rapper)

Navraj Singh Goraya (born November 3, 1989), known professionally as Nav, is a Canadian rapper, singer, songwriter, 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.

Nav
Nav in 2018
Born
Navraj Singh Goraya

(1989-11-03) November 3, 1989
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
EducationThistletown Collegiate Institute
Alma materMetalworks Institute
Occupations
  • Rapper
  • singer
  • songwriter
  • record producer
Years active2014–present
Musical career
Genres
Labels
Websitenavmusic.com

In 2017, Nav released his self-titled debut mixtape and his collaborative mixtape with Metro Boomin, Perfect Timing. He released his debut studio album, Reckless, in 2018. He then released his second studio album, Bad Habits (2019), which debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200. In 2020, Nav released his highest-charting song as a lead artist, "Turks", with Gunna featuring Travis Scott, which debuted and peaked at number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100. It serves as the lead single to his third studio album, Good Intentions (2020), which was released later and then became his second number-one album on the US Billboard 200. Soon, he released its deluxe edition titled Brown Boy 2 (2020), which is also a sequel of his unofficial EP titled Brown Boy (2019), which Cash published on Audiomack a week before Bad Habits. He then earned his highest-charting song in total from his feature on Internet Money, Gunna, and Don Toliver's single, "Lemonade", which eventually reached at number six on the Hot 100. He released his commercial mixtape, Emergency Tsunami, in late 2020. Nav released his fourth studio album, Demons Protected by Angels, in fall 2022. He is set to release his third commercial mixtape, Nav2, a sequel to his self-titled project, sometime in 2023.

Early life

Navraj Singh Goraya was born on November 3, 1989, in Toronto, Ontario, into an immigrant Punjabi Jat Sikh family, from Punjab, India. He was raised in the Rexdale neighbourhood. His mother was involved in computer manufacturing and his father operated a forklift.[1] Nav first became interested in music after his mother bought him a boombox in the third grade.[2] His uncle was also a popular Punjabi singer in India and brought him to a studio.[3] He began making mash-ups in high school and producing beats for local underground Toronto artists, and became popular on SoundCloud. Nav first started producing using Sony's ACID Pro software.[1] He attended West Humber Junior Middle School and then later attended Thistletown Collegiate Institute for his high school education and had to spend an additional year to graduate. Following high school, he attended and graduated from Metalworks Institute in Mississauga, Ontario in 2010 with a diploma in Audio Production and Engineering.[4]

Career

2015–2018: Commercial debut, Nav, Perfect Timing, and Reckless
Main articles: Nav (mixtape) and Perfect Timing (mixtape)

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.[5][6] 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.[7] 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.[8][9] 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.[10] 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.[11]

2018–2019: Reckless and Bad Habits
Main articles: Reckless (Nav album) and Bad Habits (Nav album)

On November 7, 2017, Nav was featured on the single "Bali" by Canadian hip hop duo 88Glam, which consisted of rappers and now-former XO signees Derek Wise and 88Camino before the duo split in late 2022, as part of the duo's self-titled debut mixtape. Three days later, he released the single "Wanted You" featuring Lil Uzi Vert, which became his first single as a lead artist, as well as a credited artist, to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching number 64.[12] In February 2018, Nav received a Juno Award nomination for Breakthrough Artist of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2018.[13] On March 16, 2018, he released the single "Freshman List", which saw him taking aim at the magazine XXL for not including him in their segment of the same name to highlight up-and-coming artists in 2017.[14] On April 6, 2018, Nav was featured on the single "Maintain" by fellow XO signee Belly, which later appeared on the latter's second studio album, Immigrant.[15] On April 26, 2018, during his concert for his "Freshman Tour" in Los Angeles, he announced that he would be releasing two projects that year, in which he said that his debut studio album would be titled Reckless and that he would also be releasing another collaborative mixtape with Metro Boomin titled Perfect Timing 2, which is a sequel to their project together that was released in 2017, but the latter project has still not been released as of 2023. The next day, Nav took to social media to announce that Travis Scott, who came out to perform "Beibs in the Trap" with him onstage the previous day, would be featured on a song from Reckless. On May 18, 2018, Nav released Reckless, with "Wanted You" and "Freshman List" serving as the respective lead and second singles.[16][17] "Champion" featuring Travis Scott was chosen as the third and final single from the album as it was sent to rhythmic contemporary radio on June 26, 2018.[18] On August 3, 2018, Nav was featured alongside Gunna on the single "Yosemite" by Travis Scott, as part of the latter's third studio album, Astroworld, which he received worldwide attention because his voice was initially mixed at a lower volume, but it was fixed and re-released with a better mix at the correct volume eight days later.[19][20]

On November 2, 2018, Nav released the single "Know Me".[21] He received two Juno Award nominations for Fan Choice and Rap Recording of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2019 for Reckless. On March 22, 2019, Nav released his second studio album, Bad Habits, with "Know Me" serving as the lead single.[22] Four days later, he released the deluxe edition of the album and "Price on My Head" featuring the Weeknd was chosen as the second single of the album on the same day.[23][24][25] It debuted number one on the US Billboard 200.[26][27] "Tap" featuring Meek Mill was chosen as the third and final single from the album as it was sent to rhythmic contemporary radio on May 7, 2019.[28] On June 28, 2019, Mustard released his third studio album, Perfect Ten, with Nav featured alongside Playboi Carti and A Boogie wit da Hoodie on the fourth track, "Baguettes in the Face".[29]

2020–present: Good Intentions, Brown Boy 2, Emergency Tsunami, Demons Protected by Angels, and Nav2
Main articles: Good Intentions (album), Brown Boy 2, Emergency Tsunami, and Demons Protected by Angels

On March 27, 2020, Nav released a collaboration with Gunna titled "Turks" featuring Travis Scott.[30][31] The song became his highest-charting song in the United States as it reached number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 and served as the lead single from his third studio album, Good Intentions. The album was released on May 8 and debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200. Three days later, Nav released its deluxe edition with a reissued album titled Brown Boy 2, which also serves as a sequel to his unofficial EP, Brown Boy, which his manager Cash released exclusively on Audiomack in 2019.[32] Soon after the release of the albums, Nav released a merchandise collaboration with Vlone and Virgil Abloh for the album.[33] On August 14, Nav was featured on the single "Lemonade" by record label Internet Money, Gunna, and Don Toliver, which later appeared the label's debut studio album, B4 the Storm, and gave Nav his highest-charting song ever as it reached number seven on the Hot 100.[34] On November 6, 2020, Nav released his second commercial mixtape, Emergency Tsunami.[35] Five days later, he released a bonus version of the mixtape.[36] "Young Wheezy", a collaboration with Gunna, was chosen as the lead and only single from the mixtape as it was sent to rhythmic contemporary radio on January 12, 2021.[37]

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.[38] Nav solely produced the second single, "Wrong Decisions", which was released on August 23, 2022.[39] 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.[40] 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. On February 10, 2023, he released the single "Lately", which is expected to serve as the lead single from the mixtape.[41] 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. 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.[42] 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.[43] In an interview with Genius, Nav stated that the neighborhood he grew up in of Rexdale is very "multicultural" with members of the "Chinese to white to black to Jamaican" openly using the term with one another. He stated that it was commonly used among his friends, but once he had gotten global exposure, Nav said he started seeing some backlash. In this interview, Nav had stated that he would no longer use this term in his music anymore, and that people would not hear it on his then-upcoming collaboration project with Metro Boomin, Perfect Timing.[44]

In March 2018, Nav had publicly criticized XXL through a series of tweets and Instagram posts along with releasing the single, "Freshman List".[45] 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.[46]

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.[47][48]

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."[49] 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.[50] 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.[51]

Discography
Main article: Nav discography

Studio albums

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[52] Nominated
Rap Recording of the Year[52] Bad Habits Nominated

References
  1. "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.
  2. "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.
  3. 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.
  4. "Alumni Update: JUNO Award Nominations 2018, Metalworks Institute". Metalworks Institute. February 9, 2018. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  5. "Drake – OVO Sound Radio Episode 13 Tracklist". Genius.com. Archived from the original on August 17, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
  6. "Drake – OVO Sound Radio Episode 16 Tracklist". Genius.com. Archived from the original on August 17, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
  7. Simmons, Ted (February 16, 2017). "Nav Signs Deal With The Weeknd's XO Records". XXL. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  8. "Travis Scott Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 26, 2018. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
  9. "Travis Scott & Nav's "Biebs In The Trap" Just Went Platinum". HYPEBEAST. Archived from the original on October 20, 2017. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  10. "Rhythmic/Urban Radio Update". April 12, 2017 – via Fashionably.
  11. "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.
  12. Lamarre, Carl (November 10, 2017). "Nav & Lil Uzi Vert Blast Their Past Relationships on 'Wanted You'". Billboard. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  13. "Arcade Fire and Daniel Caesar lead 2018 Juno Award nominations" Archived February 8, 2018, at the Wayback Machine. CBC Music, February 6, 2018.
  14. Mojica, Nick (March 16, 2018). "Nav Wants the Rookie of the Year Crown on New Song "Freshman List"". XXL. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
  15. Zidel, Alex (April 5, 2018). "Belly & Nav Are Out Here Trying To "Maintain" In New Single". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  16. Saponara, Michael (May 18, 2018). "Stream NAV's Debut Album 'Reckless,' Feat. Travis Scott, Quavo & Lil Uzi Vert". Billboard. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  17. "Nav's Debut Album 'Reckless' Is Here". Complex. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  18. "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.
  19. Findlay, Mitch (November 12, 2018). "Travis Scott Picks "Yosemite" As Next "Astroworld" Single". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  20. Arcand, Rob (August 12, 2018). "Travis Scott Updates Final Mix of Astroworld Song 'Yosemite'". Spin. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  21. Espinoza, Joshua (November 2, 2018). "Nav Drops New Single "Know Me"". Complex. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
  22. 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.
  23. 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.
  24. 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.
  25. 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.
  26. 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.
  27. 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.
  28. "Top 40 Rhythmic Future Releases". All Access Media Group. Archived from the original on May 5, 2019. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  29. 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.
  30. "NAV, Gunna & Travis Scott Join Forces Again on 'Turks'". Billboard. March 27, 2020. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  31. "Nav and Gunna share "Turks" featuring Travis Scott". The FADER. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  32. "Audiomack | Free Music Sharing and Discovery".
  33. "Nav Connects With Virgil Abloh, VLONE, and nWo on 'Good Intentions' Album Merch". Complex. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  34. Marke, Erika (August 14, 2020). "Internet Money Taps Gunna, Nav, & Don Toliver For "Lemonade"". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  35. "NAV Announces New Mixtape 'Emergency Tsunami'". Exclaim!. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  36. "NAV Adds Future Collab To 'Emergency Tsunami' For Bonus Version Mixtape". HipHopDX. November 11, 2020. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  37. "Top 40 Rhythmic Future Releases". AllAccess. Archived from the original on January 4, 2021.
  38. Espinoza, Joshua (July 29, 2022). "Nav Reconnects With Travis Scott and Lil Baby on "Never Sleep"". Complex. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
  39. Shifferaw, Abel (August 23, 2022). "Nav Shares Video for New Track "Wrong Decisions"". Complex. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  40. Li, Joyce (September 14, 2022). "NAV Teams up With Future and Don Toliver in New Visuals for "One Time"". 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.
  41. Cowen, Trace William (February 10, 2023). "Nav Teases Upcoming 'Nav 2' Album With New Track "Lately"". Complex. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  42. 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.
  43. "Why We Can't Give South Asian Artists Who Say The N-Word A Pass". March 5, 2017. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  44. "NAV Says He's Done Using the N-Word in His Music". Archived from the original on May 24, 2019. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  45. "Nav Debuts "Freshman List" Single Ahead of Tour". HNHH. March 15, 2018.
  46. "Nav Blasts XXL's Editor-In-Chief, Says Freshmen List & Website is Trash". March 20, 2018.
  47. "Why Nav's Vocals on "Yosemite" Were Quiet, According to Travis Scott's Engineer". Complex. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  48. "Travis Scott's Engineer Explains The Low Volume Of Nav's 'Yosemite' Verse". UPROXX. April 7, 2020. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  49. "Lunch with Nav". Pitchfork. March 27, 2019. Archived from the original on May 3, 2019. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  50. "Nav Talks Working With Lil Uzi Vert, "Yosemite" Vocals & Haters". YouTube. Archived from the original on November 18, 2021. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  51. "Canadian Rapper Nav on TMZ is Finally a Thing". Archived from the original on April 1, 2019. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  52. "Juno Awards: The Weeknd Scores Leading 6 Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. March 9, 2021. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
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