With the arrival of his new album Good Intentions, Nav sat down for an interview with Complex News' Pierce Simpson. During the chat, Nav spoke about what it's like to hit up the studio with Young Thug, being on the receiving end of hate, and his issues with DJ Akademiks.
To kick off the interview, Nav talked about wrapping the album just before quarantine hit, and was asked about the extensive list of collaborators on the record. "Working with Thug... He's such a cool and humble guy, especially [for] where he's at in his career, and we had a really good time in Toronto making those songs," he replied when asked who his favorite collaborator was. Thug is featured on two songs on the record, "No Debate" and "Spend It." The two worked together while Thug was on tour, stopping by in the city for a few days to work together.
From there he went on to talk about his relationship with Meek Mill, which is especially interesting since Nav worked on Drake's diss song "Back to Back" in 2015. The two have since collaborated a few times, and Nav mentioned that Meek gifted him with a Maybach. "So the first time I ever seen a Maybach... Meek gave us his car when we got to Atlanta," he added. He joked that as this happened, he wondered if Meek was aware that he worked on "Back to Back." "I'm sure he knows by know," he said with a laugh.
Nav has often been on the receiving end of a lot of hate, and his latest record sees him address that. Speaking with Simpson, Nav said, "What people think about me don't get me paid." He continued, "I don't care, but there's an element of a race wall. Maybe 'cause I'm Indian or something." He said that he thinks that a broader audience might not be ready to see a rapper of his background, but from his early days he's always had plenty of vocal supporters.
Nav also suggested that he might be "overhated" a bit, and that he's happy to see the public's perception of him and his music get more positive over time. "I changed the narrative," he said.
He also briefly addressed his back and forth with DJ Akademiks, whom he beefed with earlier in the year. It all started with a tweet from Nav on New Year's Eve, in which he wrote, "Akademiks hop on and off dick so much he prolly got STDs." The rapper explained that nothing in particuarly sparked the tweet, he just decided to share his comment after speaking with his friends.
"I felt bad that I made him that mad you know," Nav said of the beef. Previously he suggested that Akademiks had been racist in intentionally mispelling his name, and when asked if he has endured racism in the industry, he said, "For sure. ... It's just like, saying like, 'My music is for people who work in 7/11s' or some shit like that." He added these comments are "offensive," but he says he doesn't want to let that negativity impact him.
Watch the full interview above, and check out his interview with Grant Rindner for Complex here.
