Reckless is NAV's third full-length project and his second as a solo artist. He made some waves in 2017 when he was signed to The Weeknd's XO label and had some hits on SoundCloud like "Myself." He followed up a self-titled debut with a collaborative project with super-producer Metro Boomin called Perfect Timing, which saw him making music with bigger artists like Lil Uzi Vert, Offset from Migos, Gucci Mane and more. Since those projects, he's featured on songs by A$AP Ferg, Smokepurpp, and Tory Lanez. As for me, I'm not a fan of NAV. I found both of his project to be dry and boring, and I thought they were among the worst of 2017. However, his features and singles since then have made me change my opinion, and I was looking forward to what he would do on Reckless.
Positives
NAV's production continues to be the highlight of his music, as it sounds crisp and clean throughout. Another aspect I've always loved about NAV's music was his album art. While it has nothing to do with the music, the covers of NAV, Perfect Timing, and Reckless all look really cool and fit the mood of NAV's albums. The features and singles are definitely the highlights of Reckless and there's definitely a progression from what we heard on his self-titled record to this album. For starters, he's sing-rapping with more energy and doesn't sound nearly as monotone as most songs on his previous projects. While it may not sound good most of the time, I appreciate that NAV is using more flows and speeds within his flows.
Negatives
While I do believe that he has progressed in terms of energy and flow, his voice is still bothersome on most tracks. The robotic autotune that makes NAV sound like NAV can be incredibly obnoxious, especially when he sings in a higher register, especially on songs like "Never Change," "Hold Your Hand," and "Glow Up." While I like this project better than his previous efforts, it's still boring. I get the vibe that the albums are supposed to give, but somehow this project feels too low-key. The beats sound good but are incredibly samey. You also get the same recycled lyrical content about going from rags to riches, having expensive fashion taste, and being able to have sexual intercourse with my theoretical girlfriend despite having one of the worst bowl cuts anyone has ever seen. Despite being a concise 12 tracks and 40 minutes, I feel like NAV still needed at least one more feature. I don't believe an artist as lyrically shallow as NAV can carry the majority of a project by himself.
So how were the features?
1) Quavo (Faith) - As much as I like Migos, I've always thought Quavo's features were very samey and slightly above average at best. Like Quavo, I don't have anything new to say, so I will sum up his feature on here and any songs with him going forward with this: Quavo did Quavo things.
Verdict: Ehhhh
2) Travis Scott (Champion) - One of my favorite Travis Scott features this year. I liked his hook and the energy he brought to the track. I don't think this track is as good as their other collaboration "Beibs In the Trap," but it's very good nonetheless.
Verdict: Liked
3) Lil Uzi Vert (Wanted You) - I think NAV and Uzi bring out the best in each other since some of my favorite songs from both of these artists involve them collaborating. Uzi brings an energetic and fun verse as well as a nice back-and-forth with NAV for the third verse. It's no "A$AP Ferg," but it's just as good as that song in my opinion.
Verdict: Liked
4) Gunna (EAT) - I don't think his feature was anything special, but not terrible. I like his back-and-forth with NAV on this song.
Verdict: Somewhere between Ehhhh and Liked
So how were the singles?
NAV released two singles ahead of the release of Reckless. One of them came late in 2017 and the other came in March of this year.
1) Wanted You (feat. Lil Uzi Vert) - This was the song that made me think less negatively of NAV. He brought more energy to this track, which was something I haven't heard before even on the better cuts of his previous projects (Up, Myself, A$AP Ferg). I like this song mostly because of Uzi, but NAV's hook is also very catchy.
Verdict: Liked
2) Freshman List - This song basically serves as a diss track toward XXL. NAV had declined for the Freshman List in 2017 and is saying that he didn't need help from XXL to gain success. I'll admit that I didn't like this single at first, but it's grown on me.
Verdict: Liked
Verdict: Liked
Favorite Tracks
1) Faith (feat. Quavo) - It seems like there's at least one song on every NAV project where there's a minute-long outro where the beat slows down and changes its pitch. It's the main reason why "Myself" and "A$AP Ferg" were my favorite tracks from his previous projects. That beat switch is present here and is also the highlight of this track. Quavo does Quavo things for his feature but it doesn't bring down the quality of the track.
2) Champion (feat. Travis Scott) - I mostly love this track because of Travis. He delivers one of his best recent features and hooks on this song and essentially stole the show. I also found the "Molly, Percocet" ad-lib to be pretty funny.
3) What I Need (Daheala Outro) - This was a nice way to end the album. I think this song has the best beat as well as some solid flows from NAV himself. I would also like to point out that this song has a beautiful-sounding beat switch.
Least Favorite Track
None of the tracks were memorably awful, but I think the lowest moment on the album was the high-pitched autotune on Glow Up. It just sounded grating, and I really wanted it to be over as soon as I heard NAV's vocals.
Conclusion
This is definitely a step in the right direction for NAV, but there is still lots of room for improvement. His next project will ultimately be a make-or-break situation for him.
Score: 2/5
This album is not nearly as problematic as NAV or Perfect Timing, but it has some lingering issues from those projects. I think this is NAV's strongest project, but that doesn't mean it's good.
This concludes my fourth review. My next review will be of Lil Baby's new project Harder Than Ever, which should be out by Tuesday.
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