Can you believe that we got two Nav projects in two weeks? Let me double check my calendar to see if it’s December 25th…

Nav is a very frustrating artist to follow. Personally, I believe he has an ear for music that is as impressive as anyone else in the game; however, at times, it doesn’t seem like he wants rap success as bad as the next rapper. With the release of “Bad Habits,” the Toronto MC looks to break his bad habits, delivering a body of work that I hope catches my attention more than his previous efforts did.

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TOP 5

 

5. KNOW ME

Nav gets back to his ruthless s**t on “Know Me.”

You know what’s funny? When Nav first hit the music scene, I viewed him as this troubled artist that struggled with the women, drugs and fame that he suddenly inherited with success. Since then, he’s transformed into this braggadocios douche bag that abuses all three aspects. In “Know Me,” the Perfect Timing rapper shows off his douche bag side full force, rapping about smashing b*tches and showing off his luxurious items.

The beat attached to “Know Me” has a great bop to it, while Nav’s rapping style comes across as very robotic on his verses. The combination between the two sounds works well.

 

 

4. TUSSIN

Welcome to the 21st century in which the most adorable duets come from rappers.

“Tussin” sounds like some soap opera s**t, featuring this heavenly rap instrumental that damn near had me in tears. Over this instrumental, Nav and featured guest Young Thug sing about spoiling chicks and sipping on some over-the-counter medicine for enjoyment purposes. For the most part, both artists sound like they are being stabbed over and over again on this song, and for some odd reason, that s**t sounds tight as f**k, to me!

 

 

3. PRICE ON MY HEAD

If you take a look at the play-counts I gave Nav and The Weeknd’s “Some Way” track, you would think my iTunes library errored out (I loved it that much). “Price On My Head” won’t get as much love as that song did from me, but I do still think it’s dope.

“Price On My Head” has this hazy instrumental attached to it, which in my opinion, serves very well for The Weeknd. Speaking of The Weeknd, he dominates this song, gifting us with two high-pitched verses and an even higher-pitched hook. Content-wise, he talks about being paranoid when it comes to f**king with chicks, eventually changing his tune and bragging about his outlandish partying, luxurious items and real n***a ways.

Nav is definitely a forgotten figure on “Price On My Head,” but he does get a chance to change the tone of it when it’s his time to go. In my opinion, he turns the song into something a lot grittier.

Why do I feel like I just heard two n***as that deserve to be fat ladies at an opera?

 

 

2. TENSION

“Tension” is both smooth and introspective. It is powered by this soothing instrumental, and over it, Nav opens up about all the things that stresses him out about being a successful rapper. Yes, some of the s**t he says is bulls**t (Especially his braggadocios sentiments) on the song, but if you listen closely, he also talks about some real s**t like having the pressure to provide for his family, keeping up with a certain lifestyle and finding a chick that can finagle his LeVeon Bells.

In my opinion, “Tension” features a version of Nav that lives up to his potential. Not once does he force a single word he delivers, instead, he glides his way to the finish line utilizing this pacifying singing approach that is heavy on the melodic side.

 

 

1. TAP

Hmmm… Wasn’t it Nav that bragged about producing Drake’s heinous “Back to Back” diss record towards Meek Mill back in the day? Well, if some rappers can let bygones be bygones, I guess I can forgive Wendys for selling me bad meat a couple years ago. Anyway, in “Tap,” the two rappers unite, gifting us with this sly banger that features a raw ass verse by Meek that has him spitting about dismissing haters, performing porno moves on chicks and shooting up foes. As for Nav, he provides the track with something melodic, while also following in the same direction Meek did content-wise. There was a point in Nav’s verse in which he admits that Meek was one of the first rappers to give him a shot; a line I thought spoke a lot about his maturation.

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SONG BY SONG BREAKDOWN

1. TO MY GRAVE (4/5)

2. I’M READY (2.5/5)

3. TAKING CHANCES (3/5)

4. TAP (5/5)

5. TENSION (5/5)

6. PRICE ON MY HEAD (4/5)

7. RALO (3.5/5)

8. TUSSIN (4.5/5)

9. SNAP (3.5/5)

10. HOLD YOUR BREATH (4/5)

11. WHY YOU CRYING MAMA (3.5/5)

11. TIME PIECE (4/5)

12. DIOR RUNNERS (3.5/5)

13. VICODIN (4/5)

14. STUCK WITH ME (2.5/5)

15. KNOW ME (4/5)

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OVERALL RATING

(C+)

 

WHAT I LOVE ABOUT “BAD HABITS”

• Is there a rapper that opens up more than Nav? In this album, he continues to talk about his wishy-washy mental, celebrating his wins and occasionally succumbing to his losses. In my opinion, the combination is the realest s**t you will hear in music today.
• Nav always has a great comeback when he raps, right? When he talks about sticky situations, he knows the exact things to say to get out of it. It’s almost like this n***a is the trap version of MacGyver.
• I have a love/hate relationship with Nav’s s**t talking on this album. When done right, it sounds tight as f**k — This is usually when he raps effortlessly. When Nav forces s**t, I simply don’t believe the words that come out of his mouth.
• If you listened to Nav’s debut album, you heard a n***a that was on the borderline of suicide. In “Bad Habit,” he sounds a lot more stable, which in my opinion, has altered his music in a bad way.  I am happy that he is in a better state of mind these days, though.
• Nav’s ability to sing passionately has always stood out, to me. On songs like “Tension,” “Why You Crying Mama” and “Tussin,” he delivers something that is truly engaging vocally.
• I thought the melodies on this album were fantastic! Nav knew how to appeal in this department, which as a result, kept him at least interesting throughout.
• Nav knows how to create extended hooks that allows him to cram a good chunk of his feelings into the mix. Most of the time, you don’t even have to listen to his verses to understand what a song is all about. Matter of fact, his verses sound like long ass hooks.
• I love the tone of this album: It was sobering, but also authentically trap. No other artist has been able to master this sound like Nav has.
• The Weeknd talks so much s**t when he sings, but you don’t take it seriously due to the fact that he sounds like Michael Jackson. Do you know how much disrespectful s**t I would say to my manager if I was able to sound like The Weeknd does on songs?
• Young Thug is a fearless artist. Rappers should be more like him. On “Tussin,” he delivers yet another riveting performance, despite not having the best singing voice in the world.
• Gunna and Nav need to make a collaboration album. I think their chemistry is outstanding!
• Meek Mill’s verse on “Tap” was the best on this album. I love how he comes across like this dominating figure that can care less that he continuously contradicts his own beliefs.
• Don’t you love this new trend of rappers making songs that are less than three minutes long? For ADHD n***as like myself, it helps that I don’t have to pay attention to long ass songs. A lot of songs on “Bad Habits” was less than three minutes long.

 

WHAT I HATE ABOUT “BAD HABITS”

• Are we all the way convinced that Nav wants to talk about having shooters, doing drugs and f**king b*tches in his music? For some odd reason, I don’t buy that he is all the way comfortable being the person he perceives on his songs (I felt this way on his last two projects, too). Unfortunately, this effects the authenticity of his music.
• Dull is dull, folks. For a good chunk of this album, Nav sounds like a f**king answering machine. If you don’t have some lights on while you listen to him spit, you might just doze off.
• I would love for Nav to dive deeper in his bag content-wise. I appreciate that he talks about his insecurities and all the money he has in his songs, but if he can give us a little more detail on his come-up or underdog status, I would be a happier camper.
• Nav comes across like a n***a that has no clue how to be in a relationship. Can someone send him a bootleg copy of ‘Think Like A Man?’
• Nav will never convince me that “Where he’s from” is the second-coming of Compton. Don’t worry, where I’m from ain’t Compton either, bro.
• So let me get this straight: not a single R&B artist was featured on this album, yet I heard a lot of singing ass n***as throughout it…. Yea, aight! (In my Blueface voice)

 

Nav has outstanding potential, and I think he’s finally starting to live up to it. In “Bad Habit,” he sounds extra motivated, developing habits (Ironically) that I think can allow him to finally reach that next level of rap super stardom. Then again, I’m not sure he can handle such a status mentally.