The Advanced Guide to NAV

Started by Sea Mauville, Dec 5, 2019, in Music Add to Reading List

  1. Sea Mauville
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    Dec 5, 2019
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    Hello, and welcome to the Perfect Timing 2 waiting room. I've noticed that most people who talk down on NAV know very little about him, so I am here to fix that. "Know your enemy" and all that. Hopefully by the end of this I will have convinced you otherwise: That NAV is actually good.

    Part 1: The Introduction
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    "Heard someone say that NAV is done, I'm just getting started"
    — On My Own
    This may be unofficial, but it still exists as the best representation of NAV's earlier work. The fanmade mixtape is a compilation of the songs he uploaded to Soundcloud in 2015-2016. In my opinion, this is NAV's best work, and the best place to start with his music. All of the songs are self-produced (except for Up), making this collection his most distinctive and unique sound in his whole discography.




    Part 2: NAV
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    "My shooters psychopaths, they bustin' and they laughin'"
    — NAV
    NAV's first foray as an established artist, he wasted little time dropping this a few months after blowing up. This project is what deconfirmed the longstanding rumours of NAV being signed to OVO, revealing him as XO's newest artist. The self-titled project stands as one of his best, carrying a few of his best hits from The Introduction. Still mostly self-produced, the songs are cohesive and feel like they belong together. Some of his most notorious lines can be found here!




    Part 3: Perfect Timing
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    "Diamonds shining, yeah, stars aligning, yeah, it's Perfect Timing, yeah"
    — Perfect Timing (Intro)
    A few months after his self-titled, NAV linked up once again with Metro Boomin for a full-length collaborative project. The two producers mesh their styles to set the stage for both NAV and his many guests (thanks to Metro). This album is interesting because it produced some of NAV's most emotional and emotionally-disconnected songs so far in his career. And it's got TWO Uzi features! You have to respect it.




    Part 4: Reckless
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    "I'm off the perkys and I'm crying in the rain"
    — Faith
    WARNING: NAV himself has admitted that Reckless was a misstep. He believes the reason is because the life was getting to him and he didn't give himself enough control over the music. To be fair, while it is his weakest commercial project, Reckless still has a solid amount of good songs that make it still worth giving a chance. He didn't produce any of the songs here but still made good use of what he had. (Important note: NAV's verse on YOSEMITE is describing the Champion music video)




    Part 5: 1 Night
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    "Christmastime, I'm putting molly in my eggnog"
    — XO FBG
    The most overlooked project in NAV's discography, understandably too. NAV's second collab project was done with Guap Tarantino (& entirely produced by ATLJacob) and only uploaded to Soundcloud. This EP is short but sweet at only 5 songs. NAV and Guap Tarantino have decent chemistry, but it ultimately makes for a rather forgettable mixtape. It's still pretty enjoyable whenever it does get played though. Recommend listening if you're a NAV completionist.




    Part 6: Brown Boy
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    "I deserve a trophy, hottest Brown Boy from the 6"
    — Athlete
    Released to bring NAV back out of 'retirement' and drum up hype for Bad Habits, Brown Boy is a solid EP that no longer gets attention as its own body of work (due to the fact that it was integrated into the Deluxe version of the aforementioned album). The style shown in Brown Boy is a step forward in NAV's sound, which is only further developed in Bad Habits.




    Part 7: Bad Habits
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    "All these rappers fake, I look up to Ralo"
    — Ralo
    Bad Habits is a major return to form for NAV, being one the best projects of his career. Ready to rectify past mistakes, NAV goes for a larger, more polished sound on this album. The beats and melodies on this album are some of his best ever, with a solid handful of classic NAV-brand outrageous lines (great features by The Weeknd, Young Thug, Meek Mill, etc. too). Easily a staple and a good beginner project for NAV explorers.


    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ze92T72i0vk

    Part 8: Features
    "Born alone, die alone, I let the drugs take my soul"
    — Re Up
    I'm going to let you in on a secret: NAV has an incredible track record when it comes to features. A good portion of his features are legitimately great, this fact is overlooked by the general public. (Full disclosure: Re Up is his best song, regardless of the fact that it's Belly's. Essential listen for NAV fans.) His features are an integral part to the NAV experience, and should be given the same levels of attention as his projects.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gItvP-KzD8o
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbOyi3nCas4
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmFm9Yp80dE
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TZxpQlOjls

    Part 9: Conclusion
    FAQ
    _________________________________________________________________
    "So where do I go from here?"
    Now that you too have a comprehensive knowledge of NAV's discography, the next step would be listening to these projects yourself. My final gift to you is a flowchart, the order I would recommend listening to his projects in.
    Re Up (the song) :emoji_arrow_right: The Introduction :emoji_arrow_right: Bad Habits (+ Brown Boy) :emoji_arrow_right: NAV :emoji_arrow_right: Perfect Timing :emoji_arrow_right: Reckless :emoji_arrow_right: 1 Night
    I firmly believe this is the optimal order to listen to NAV, starting with both the first and most recent projects to provide a full scope of what you're getting into.
    _________________________________________________________________
    "Top 5 NAV songs?"
    If it wasn't obvious, I think his best stuff is almost entirely made up of his early songs. That's not to devalue the rest of his work, but I just believe it's his strongest stuff.
    1. Re Up
    2. Myself
    3. The Man
    4. Over
    5. Nothing On You
    _________________________________________________________________
    "Why did you do this?"
    Because Section 80 needs content.



    Thanks for reading!
     
    Mar 29, 2024
  2. Sea Mauville
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    Dec 5, 2019
     
    #2
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  3. Lil Squeed
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    Lil Squeed French Montana Stan

    Dec 5, 2019
    Amazing
     
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  4. Sea Mauville
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    Dec 5, 2019
     
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  5. Ordinary Joel
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    Ordinary Joel Found a new way to flow

    Dec 5, 2019
    Not gonna happen even though I know I'm being dismissive and ignorant
     
    #5
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  6. Jakey
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    Jakey You Reckon

    Dec 5, 2019
    d--- Nav is out here representing the brown boys.... :emoji_disappointed_relieved:

    I get the cringe in the past about Nav but he has really killed it this year.
     
    Mar 29, 2024
  7. Ordinary Joel
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    Ordinary Joel Found a new way to flow

    Dec 5, 2019
    Jai Paul the only real one repping the brown boys
     
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  8. Sea Mauville
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    Dec 5, 2019
    goat
     
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  9. Sav Stanfield
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    Dec 5, 2019
    i've never been sold on Nav but off the strength of this thread alone I'm about to deep dive into his discography right now.
     
    #9
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  10. Lil Squeed
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    Lil Squeed French Montana Stan

    Dec 5, 2019
    OJ confirmed racist
     
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  11. LLLMMMMFFFFFAAAAAAOOOOOO
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    LLLMMMMFFFFFAAAAAAOOOOOO humans are just recycled star dust

    Dec 5, 2019
    Bad Habits top 7 rap album off 2019
     
    Mar 29, 2024
  12. Enez
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    Enez Purple Heats Forever

    Dec 5, 2019
    finally a good thread for once.

    preach to the brown boy
     
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  13. Sea Mauville
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    Dec 5, 2019
    thanks for bannering
     
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  14. Chrollo
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    Chrollo ♱ كرولو

    Dec 5, 2019
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  15. Tone Riggz
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    Tone Riggz There's No Cure For Being A C*nt

    Dec 6, 2019
    I do listen to Nav here and there but there’s only but so many times I can listen to him rap about popping a prescription pill, f---ing everybody’s b----, how many shooters he’s got, how many (insert high end fashion line) shoes he’s got, how jealous broke Brown boys are of him. That’s pretty much a majority of his lyrics. But he’s one of those artists that knows how to navigate around his limitations.

    I think he and Belly should do a project together. Their collabs are usually dope and since Belly is more versatile he might be able to push Nav into different zones creatively.
     
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  16. Sea Mauville
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    Dec 6, 2019
    agreed i think they work very well together
     
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  17. Ordinary Joel
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    Ordinary Joel Found a new way to flow

    Dec 8, 2019
    This ain't it chief
     
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