Navy Blue Breaks Down His Reflective New Album 'Ways of Knowing'
The MC and producer gave us a track-by-track breakdown of his latest projectwww.rollingstone.com
The Medium:
“By no means am I saying that I’m [a medium]. I was just saying that binding force, that glue that connects my subconscious to my conscious mind, my body to my spirit, and the opening lyrics of “Hold up, slow down for your own sake,” it’s like I’m speaking to myself and my response is my heart on the ground for the moment. Then my response again is “what you know about self-love?” My response to that is, “desolate can’t be touched.” It’s a push and pull that ultimately levels itself out where much like a scale in that regard…it finds balance. It’s constantly teetering until when my grandfather comes in at the end, his grace has it at a good spot on the scale where it feels harmonious.”“The line, ‘Too many days I wore that God damn muzzle’ is one of my favorite moments on that song because I really meant it, and it stems from an early memory of biting my teeth and biting my jaw or tightening my jaw because I had so much to say, but I just didn’t have the words or the courage to express myself. And it’s really the grace and courage that I’ve been able to receive. It’s given me the ability to just speak from the heart and say what I think, just speak about my experience in hopes that it could suit somebody else’s hurt, make them feel heard, understood. Maybe give words to an experience or give words to somebody that has a similar experience but doesn’t have the language.”
“Chosen”
“I wanted to come in strong in a way that’s like, “I’m happy.” This makes me want to dance, makes me want to move. And the first line of that song is “I can’t stop from loving me.” And I did that song at a time that I had this newfound self-care and self-love and wanted to have a good time with rap and reflect on little moments. I’m not really a flexin’ ass rapper, but I was flexin’ in my own way. It just felt right. Budgie also had something to do with that and it was also inspired a lot by The Alchemist.”
“Al always talks about the fluctuation of an album where it’s like you go one place, [then] boom, you go to another place. I tend to do this slow rise and I wanted to experiment with that with a joint like The Mdeium, and then boom, [a song that] feels like an LA joint where I think about being in my neighborhood, being in Mid City or whatever it might be, thinking where I’ve been. It just felt right. I can’t explain it. And I always think that number two on a album is really important. Where you go with the second track is incredibly important.”
“My friend Steven Traylor [is talking between verses]. He’s one of my best friends. He brings me so much joy and he makes me laugh. Humor is big for me and is also a very familiar thing. I grew up with people that like to have a good time and laugh, and [his talking] just made me laugh. Hearing Steven’s voice to counterbalance the fact that I’m rapping is funny. [It’s also my way of honoring] the people that I care about and put on display the things that I cherish about these people in my life. And as it comes to a close, when he is talking, he’s like ‘Navy Blue, the motherfukkin’ truth.’ It makes me smile.”
“The One”
“The title was self-explanatory, but my experience with it is that it was my first experience of true unconditional love, my longest-standing relationship, and I did that joint when I was sitting in the space of mourning and grieving something. And again, the whole theme and thesis of the album is honoring what makes me me, whether that’s love as it pertains to relationships, friendships, [or] family. I also just wanted to get jiggy and make a joint that’s sweet.”
“To Fall In Love”
“Budgie is a big collector and lover of lover’s rock, and it’s also a paying homage to Dipset. But in my own way, it’s leaning into what the original Barbara Mason version is. It’s a beautiful song. And to then transmute that surrender when she’s like, “yes, I’m ready to learn.” It’s so simple and beautiful, “I’m ready to learn to fall in love.” And where I’m coming from was reflecting on that process and honoring every aspect of it, the guilt of wanting to fix things. I felt like putting it in a song is the most honorable thing to do for me, in terms of my feelings. Because if that sits within me and festers, it could come out in a different way in a different song. And it’s another one that makes you nod your head. It’s sweet.”
“And then there’s moments on there where we are giving shouting out West London where my pops is from, where Budgie spent a lot of time, where I think where he’s from. I love that joint. [One might] think Navy Blue doing a “love song” might be corny per se, but it feels natural. That’s also my own interpretation because I can be incredibly judgmental of myself as we all can be as human beings. So it was cool to be vulnerable in a way that I’m not generally vulnerable. It’s generally reflective of the inner turmoil and the grief and the trauma, but a very pure place that almost every human being gets to experience, that falling in love, it’s a beautiful thing.”
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