NAV Review
Navraj Goraya or better known as "Nav" is the epitome of buzzing. He exploded onto the music scene last year with the smash hit "Myself," and followed up with a string of tough Soundcloud singles like "Fell In Love," and "On My Own," just to name a few. Dominating the underground scene, Nav proved he could handle mainstream nearly as easy when he collaborated with Travis Scott for one of the best songs of 2016 in "Biebs In The Trap." Nav had the hits, he had the big name cosigns, and he even had the deal by the end of 2016, all he was missing was the official mixtape, and now it's finally here.
The self-entitled debut project "Nav" released on February 24th to much anticipation. He opens up the project with his biggest song to date, "Myself," and for a good reason. "Myself" sets the table for the album perfectly by addressing the main themes of the album: Drugs, the come-up, women, and more drugs.
"Nav," follows next and Nav is apparently feeling braggadocios on the chorus, "I remember being broke and down bad, now I pay nothing for my sneakers cause I'm Nav/ he can't get a feature so he mad, I ain't nothing like these rappers they won't last." Since his music started blowing up Nav has a lot to brag about, whether it's the exclusive designer brands he now rocks or the absurd amounts he spends on drugs.
"Nav" is just one of the many standout tracks on the mixtape. "Sleep," Lonely," "Interlude," "Up," "Some Way," and "Mariah," are all fire.
"Lonely" finds Nav getting honest and personal with his female interest. "Said she scared to pop a pill, girl you know what's the deal when you hanging with me," Nav chants on the chorus. He lets her know the deal straight up: That they will be doing a lot of drugs together. From Adderall to Percocets, to even lean, Nav got whatever she needs when she's feeling down, and he's also down to take them all with her.
"Up" and "Some Way" are two of the songs that were released before the project dropped. "Up" is some of Nav's best work. Produced by him and Metro Boomin', Nav speaks about the ups and downs of finally making it. "They gon' leave you when you down not when you up, fuck these hoes with all my bros, who can I trust/ Who else gon' help me in the jam when I get stuck, nobody," Nav raps as he contemplates the downs on the first verse. He hates the lack of real people around him now that he's famous, but it's worth it to him as he embraces all the benefits( Money, drugs, and girls) even more so.
"Some Way" is the leading single off the project and it features his XO crew member, The Weeknd. The Weeknd fits perfectly on this track as he handles chorus duties and provides a smooth opening verse.
My personal favorite song on "Nav" is "Mariah." The song is about the typical scene girl. Nav describes the gold-digger perfectly in the first verse, " She ain't loyal, she ain't caring, but she's really smart." Mariah knows what she's after, and Nav knows it too, " She said fuck the music, all she want me is for me/ I know that she frontin', she want me for something." Nav ability to harmonize accentuates this song as he seamlessly transitions from choruses to bridges to the actual verses. Definitely one of the strongest songs on the project if not the strongest.
"Nav" by all means is a great project, especially when considering it was Nav's debut. He played to his strengths; he excels in the production department, and he sticks to the subject matters that has made him successful so far. But in that shows the tape's greatest weakness: repetitiveness. "Nav" sounds like one big loop. You hear the same subject matter throughout and even hear a couple of the same lines in different songs. Aside from that, Nav lived up to expectations, and he makes good on what he says on "Some Way." "I'm the first brownboy to get it poppin'." Now it's time to see if he'll be the first brownboy that stays.
