Toronto Rapper and Singer Nav’s 6th mixtape, Emergency Tsunami, is my least favorite project I’ve heard this year. And while I usually listen to albums at least 3 times before giving them a review, I refuse to put myself through a second listen of this project.
Over the course of his packed discography, Nav has proven himself as one of the blandest, most derivative, robotic voices in the modern hip-hop landscape, and this record does very little to buck that trend. Through 14 tracks and 33 minutes, Nav delivers non-stop head-scratchingly idiotic lyricism, grating delivery, and boring repetitive flows.
If 2020 is the year when the world ends, I sure hope this record isn’t the last thing we hear when we die.
The (Not) Good:
This record features some rock-solid production from veteran hip-hop hitmaker Wheezy, but it doesn’t make up for the shortcomings displayed on this tape. Every featured vocalist outshines Nav and it isn’t close. There is nothing worth listening to on this record, so I’ll put my three least-hated tracks here, ordered from best to worst.
Track 6: “Vetement Socks”
The highest praise I can give to this track is that I wouldn’t inconvenience myself to skip it. It features some crisp, floaty, production from Wheezy. However, Nav’s bland vocal delivery detracts from some halfway-decent flows. The derivative style of this track makes it disappointing to say the least.
Track 5: “Repercussions”
This song’s quick pace and smooth, heavy, guitar-based production make it stand out in the tracklist. An expressive verse from Atlanta legend Young Thug is a well-earned respite from the awful vocals that litter the rest of this project. Unfortunately, because this is still a Nav song, we have to sit through more of his awful vocals, which are especially painful in the company of someone with a voice as interesting as Young Thug’s.
Track: 7: “Don’t Need Friends”
This track has a solid beat and a smooth, above-average, feature from chart-dominating artist Lil Baby. However, it is otherwise incredibly boring. Nav sounds like a robot next to someone with a shred of vocal talent. Lil Baby isn’t exactly Shakespeare, but his lyrics are lightyears ahead of anything Nav offers here.
The (Very) Bad:
Pretty much all of this record falls into the bad category, and the flaws with the record are present in every track. Going over each track to explain the issues with this record wouldn’t do it justice, so I’ll instead go issue by issue.
Issue 1: Lyrics
Nav is not a lyricist. While this style of hip-hop isn’t about the lyrics, per se, Nav’s poor lyrics are a legitimate distraction from this record, some of them so stupid or childish that they were legitimately laughable. Here’s a sample of the worst of the worst:
“Forgiato lip, give the curb a kiss”
Is Nav bragging about hitting the curb with his car?
“Too many vibes, I brought sand to the beach”
Why…?
“Whole clique lookin’ like dried out toothpaste, said everybody stayin’ solid”
I think this one speaks for itself.
It isn’t just stupid lyrics that interrupt this record either. Multiple times, Nav rhymes words with themselves for almost entire verses. Even when Nav’s lyrics are at their best on this project, they’re below average. I’m not looking for poetic double entendres or social commentary from Nav, but his poor lyricism sticks out as a glaring negative for this project.
Issue 2: Flow
Nav isn’t a technically talented rapper, but he pulls out some solid flows on this project. The issue with his flow, however, is that even when it’s enjoyable, it’s overly repetitive. Nav’s flows are frequently annoying and grating, and more than one song on this mixtape features one, single, monotonous, patience-testing flow for its entire runtime. Nav’s flows are significantly uninteresting and oftentimes painful to listen to, something which is compounded by the fact that Nav is seemingly allergic to variation in his music.
Issue 3: Delivery
Autotune is an important tool in modern music, especially hip-hop. Many artists, including Nav, use it as a part of their signature styles; Lil Uzi Vert, Future, and Travis Scott come to mind, as do many others. But in the cases of those artists, the autotune on their voices is used to accentuate the interesting aspects of their voices that make them enjoyable to listen to. Lil Uzi Vert croons in his pleasantly nasal upper register. Travis Scott’s voice fills up the music he’s rapping over and reverberates over itself with grandeur. Future uses autotune to make his verses smoother and fill the gaps between trailed off words.
While these artists don’t always make great music, their vocal styles take advantage of autotune to create a well-rounded, unique sound. Nav just sounds like a robot. He sounds like a computer attempting to approximate the autotuned sing-rapping that is so popular right now. His voice is flat and boring and it is made even more simplistic by the way his autotune removes any semblance of humanity from his music. Nav’s voice doesn’t sound good on this record, and it makes it a challenge to listen to because it lacks interest.
Issue 4: Repetition
All of these negative aspects combine for a record that is genuinely difficult to listen to. This mixtape is only half an hour, but finishing it out took legitimate willpower. All the tracks on this record run together and sound so similar that I mistook them for each other while taking notes. I am being charitable when I describe this project as the worst thing I’ve heard so far this year, and I seriously considered giving this record a lower score than it received.
Score: 1.5/10.
MOOSE PRINTS 