Nav on Tour

Toronto MC Nav had just dropped his Top 10 debut album, Reckless, in May 2018, but in early 2019 he subverted expectations by announcing his retirement on Instagram. The surprise declaration was intended as a show of solidarity with his friend and collaborator Lil Uzi Vert, who'd announced his own defection from the music industry. Alas, the disappearing act lasted for all of two months — and it could have very well been a savvy marketing ploy to give Nav's recently released second album, Bad Habits, a boost. But if it was a trick, it worked. The star-studded record debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 and featured guest spots from the likes of Gunna, Future, Meek Mill and early supporter The Weeknd. For a victory lap Nav hit the road in the spring, headlining theaters and superclubs across North America with fellow Toronto rapper Killy in tow. 

Nav Background 

The success of Drake and The Weeknd has transformed Toronto into an epicenter of moody hip-hop and arty R&B and few local artists have capitalized on this moment quite like Nav. Born Navraj Singh Goraya, the Punjabi-Canadian rapper was among the countless MCs uploading their tracks to SoundCloud in the mid-'10s — but he was one of the very few to receive a coveted co-sign from Drake himself (not to mention a buzz-generating Snapchat shout-out from Kylie Jenner). After being featured on Drake's OVO Sound radio show, Nav's 2015 debut single "Take Me Simple" would go on to rack up 15 million plays on SoundCloud. Nav subsequently signed on with The Weeknd's XO imprint, scored features with Travis Scott and dropped two mixtapes in 2017, all of which led to his winning the Juno Award for Breakthrough Artist of the Year. But that was all a warm-up for his two official albums, the aforementioned Reckless and chart-topping Bad Habits, which highlight his chill delivery infused with equal doses of swagger and sensitivity.