Nav (rapper)

NAV
Nav performing in Toronto, August 2017
Background information
Birth name Navraj Singh Goraya
Also known as
  • Beats by Nav
  • Navraj Beats
Born (1989-11-03) November 3, 1989
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Rapper
  • singer
  • songwriter
  • record producer
Instruments
Years active 2005–present
Labels
Associated acts

Navraj Singh Goraya (born November 3, 1989), better known by his stage name Nav (stylized as NAV), is a Canadian singer, rapper, record producer from Toronto, Ontario, of Punjabi descent.[1] He is signed to XO and Republic Records.[2][3]

Early life

Navraj Singh Goraya was born on November 3, 1989 in Toronto, Ontario and was raised in the city's Rexdale neighbourhood. He is of Punjabi descent; his parents were born in Punjab, India. His mother was involved in computer manufacturing, and his father drove a forklift.[4] Goraya first became interested in music after his mother bought him a boombox in the third grade.[5] His uncle, who was a popular singer in the Punjab region of India, also brought him to a studio.[6] He began making mash-ups in high school and producing beats for local underground Toronto artists, and became popular on SoundCloud. Goraya first started producing using Sony's ACID Pro software.[4]

Music career

2015–present: Commercial debut

In September 2015, Nav released one of his earliest songs to his SoundCloud account, called "Take Me Simple", which has been listened to over ten million times.[7] In July 2015, Nav contributed production and writing to Drake's diss of Meek Mill, "Back to Back". In 2016, "Take Me Simple" and "The Man" were featured on Drake's OVO Sound Radio on Beats 1.[8][9]

In September 2016, Nav collaborated with American rapper Travis Scott on Scott's song "Beibs in the Trap" from his album Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight, which Nav also co-wrote and co-produced. It peaked at number 90 on the US Billboard Hot 100,[10] and by July 2017, had been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) after selling over a million copies domestically.[11] In February 2017, after signing to the XO label and Republic Records Nav produced and co-produced his debut commercial self-titled mixtape, which included by the lead single, "Some Way" featuring The Weeknd. The mixtape included "Myself".

Nav released the collaboration mixtape, Perfect Timing with producer Metro Boomin on July 21, 2017.[12] The lead single from the album, "Call Me", peaked at 89 on the Canadian Hot 100. Nav released the single "Wanted You" featuring Lil Uzi Vert on November 3, 2017. The single is Nav's first as a lead artist to chart on the Billboard Hot 100.

He received a Juno Award nomination for Breakthrough Artist of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2018.[13]

In May 2018, Nav released his debut studio album Reckless on XO Records and Republic Records.

In August 2018, Nav feautured on rapper Travis Scott’s album, Astroworld, on the song “Yosemite”. He was the subject of many memes mocking his feature, as his verse on the song was initially mixed at a very low volume. Nav himself shared a meme on his Instagram, mocking the mixing of the track.[14] 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.[15]

Discography

References

  1. ↑ Navraj "Nav" Goraya. "Navraj "Nav" Goraya | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
  2. ↑ "Nav Signs Deal With The Weeknd's XO Records - XXL". Xxlmag.com. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
  3. ↑ Jona. (2016-07-01). "How We Came To The Conclusion Toronto Rapper Nav Is a Member of The Weeknd's XO". Made-in-toronto.com. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
  4. 1 2 "Nav Is the "First Brown Boy to Get It Popping" and His Meteoric Rise Is Far From Over". Complex.com. Retrieved 2017-10-14.
  5. ↑ "Nav: Meet the Toronto Rapper-Producer Opening the Weeknd's Starboy Tour". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2017-10-19.
  6. ↑ Carter, Brooke (2017-08-05). "Nav Net Worth - How Wealthy is the Rapper Now? - The Gazette Review". The Gazette Review. Retrieved 2017-10-19.
  7. ↑ "NAV". SoundCloud. Retrieved 2017-10-19.
  8. ↑ "Drake – OVO Sound Radio Episode 13 Tracklist". Genius.com. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  9. ↑ "Drake – OVO Sound Radio Episode 16 Tracklist". Genius.com. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  10. ↑ "Travis Scott Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Travis Scott & Nav's "Biebs In The Trap" Just Went Platinum". HYPEBEAST. Retrieved 2017-10-19.
  12. ↑ "Nav and Metro Boomin Drop 'Perfect Timing' Project - XXL". XXL Mag. Retrieved 2018-01-31.
  13. ↑ "Arcade Fire and Daniel Caesar lead 2018 Juno Award nominations". CBC Music, February 6, 2018.
  14. ↑ "NAV". Instagram. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  15. ↑ "Mike Dean". Twitter. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.