Multifaceted artist Navy Blue is deeply in touch with his inner workings, picking himself apart while allowing all those who witness to find their reflections within his cracks. His newest offering, ‘The Sword & The Soaring’, journeys through knighthood, maintaining lyrical precision while unraveling a profound emotional depth. There’s a cohesion in his storytelling that’s bred from years worth of reps in the game, as an impressive array of co-producers help tell a story of spiritual reckoning and manhood. Blurring the lines between rap and poetry, Navy Blue has easily made himself comfortable as hip-hop’s most consistent.
Clash got a chance to talk to Navy Blue ahead of his Camp Flog Gnaw set to talk navigating the spiritual, the lost art of an album, and coming back home to yourself.
—
—
I have to start off acknowledging that you’re an Aquarius, do you have any relationship with astrology?
NB: I mean, I know that I think we’re the best.
Aquarius is really good at bridging the metaphysical with the physical and finding the spiritual within the human experience and that feels like the root of your music, especially now you’re leaning so into your spiritual discovery. I’d love to know more about that path.
A lot of ups and downs, but really beautiful. I don’t have any regrets. This journey has been really informative and I’m learning how to be more accepting of the things that are presented to me and to not cower at the sight of any difficulties. I’m just welcoming all the weird shit that’s happening. I’m trying to lead with a bit more curiosity.
“Not cowering” is such a beautiful way to put it. What lesson do you think life is teaching you right now?
Wow. I think it’s teaching me how to be present and kinder to myself.
You’re certainly pouring that into the music. Is it cathartic?
Yes and no, if that makes any sense. I love making the music. I love putting it there. If there’s ever a place that I put it, it’s in the music. I feel really honoured and proud of myself to be putting what I’m putting out, because I feel like it’s needed. The content of my music, there’s not much of it out there. So it’s cathartic, but it also isn’t. Yes and no.
—
—
What’s so impressive is that you’re speaking to stuff incredibly profound, yet you’re also preserving a very classic style of hip-hop. I’d love to know what your perspective is on the evolution of the genre.
I mean, the album is a lost art. Like, here’s my whole thought. I follow the structure of an essay when I’m making an album. The intro is your thesis statement. Obviously the conclusion is your final paragraph, it’s your last song. But I feel like people don’t really do that anymore. An artist named Ka is my North Star when it comes to how I approach making music and the content of my music. He taught me how to have a theme, how to have a world that the message exists within. Right now for me, it’s this theme of knighthood, where this knight who serves the kingdom and serves the king also abandons himself. There’s this beautiful book you should check out called The Knight in Rusty Armor. My mom put me on it, a really quick read. There’s this beautiful imagery in it where this knight is stuck in his armour and it rusts, and the only thing that can lubricate the armour is his tears. So he just cries. It’s a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful read.
You seem very in touch with your inner world. What do you to preserve your wellness?
I just try to surround myself with people that I can be my true authentic self around. I feel like we conform, we shape shit. We try to be the puzzle piece for somebody else and the question I’ve been asking myself is, “What do I really like? Who am I and what do I really genuinely like?” Sometimes you’ll be embarrassed that like, you eat classic Lay’s chips or something. But no, I like Lay’s. They are my favourite because they’re classic.
—
—
Speaking of shapeshifting, is there a difference in who you are as a producer for other artists versus who you are in your own catalog?
I always show up as who I am. Making beats for people is great because I’m just going off what instinctively feels good and who would sound good on what, or if I would prefer to hear myself on this. I’m always thinking of others naturally so it’s also cool to be able to create the soundscape for someone else. I know how much it means to me when somebody gives me a beat and it takes me to a specific moment in time. There’s a song on my new album called “If Only…” that’s kind of a message to my dad, reflecting on our relationship, and my homie Shungu sent me this beat. It’s like I transported to his living room.
Last question, being that we’re at Camp Flog Gnaw, what’s your favorite Tyler album and why?
My favorite Tyler album would probably be ‘Bastard’. It’s the beginning. It’s what started everything. I love that he’s remained true to his artistry. I mean I love everything he does musically, but I think ‘Bastard’ just because it’s the beginning.
—
—
Words: Jazmin Kylene
Photography: @aldenbonecutter, @dantevelasquezjr
—