If you haven’t figured it out by now, each project NAV has released since his ascension in 2018 has included a smash hit with an out-of-this-world feature.
Most recently, the nasally Toronto rapper-producer recruited Lil Baby for “Don’t Need Friends” off his 2020 collab tape with Wheezy, Emergency Tsunami. Earlier in the same year, his 2020 solo album Good Intentions was headlined by its dominant promotional single “Turks” with Gunna and Travis Scott.
Now, two of the artists responsible for those two hits are reunited with NAV again, hoping to replicate the explosiveness they provided in 2020. On Friday at midnight ET (July 29), Nav released his brand new single “Never Sleep” with Travis Scott and Lil Baby, which serves as the first promotional single for his upcoming album Demons Protected by Angels.
“Never Sleep” is produced by Tay Keith, as his upbeat trap drums and signature fiery claps are immediately recognizable. The song opens with Travis Scott reciting his portion of the hook about “building up his legacy,” which NAV previewed on Instagram last week. Travis follows this up immediately with a bold verse where he details his trust issues regarding a significant other.
Gave her a grand, she turn it to snot
Now with the man, the nigga got blocked
Gave her a tan, I’m already hot
I gave her the land, the sand, and all the views, and really all you did was plot
I gave you the plans and rans and all jewels and really all you did was flop
“Never Sleep” — NAV featuring Travis Scott, Lil Baby
For the rest of the track, NAV adds his own bars to Travis’ pre-existing hook, bringing more versatility and excitement to the already ferocious chorus. Subsequent verses from Lil Baby and NAV live up to the standard set by Travis at the start, with Baby emphasizing his strong street reputation as Lil’ Dominique and NAV inserting colorful allusions to “pushin P” and his song “Run It Up” with the late Pop Smoke.
While the track list and release date for Demons Protected by Angels have yet to be announced, “Never Sleep” gets NAV started on the right foot with undeniably solid guest appearances and a thrilling re-emergence onto the scene after being absent for nearly two years.
Check out NAV’s latest single with Travis Scott and Lil Baby below!
