Ahmad Balshe, known professionally as Belly, is a Palestinian-Canadian rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Born in Jenin, Balshe was raised in Ottawa. At 21 years old, he moved on to his main love hip-hop with the release of his debut mixtape, Death Before Dishonor: Vol. 1. He then released eight additional projects in a span of six years, including his debut studio album The Revolution (2007), as well as two collaborative mixtapes, The Lost Tapes and The Greatest Dream I Never Had, with Kurupt and DJ Drama, respectively.
XO is a Canadian record label founded by singer the Weeknd, his managers Wassim Slaiby and Amir "Cash" Esmailian, and his creative director La Mar Taylor. Slaiby also serves as the label's CEO. As of 2012, it operates as a subsidiary of Universal Music Group, and is distributed through Republic Records.
Symere Bysil Woods, better known as Lil Uzi Vert, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. Born and raised in Philadelphia, they gained initial recognition following the release of the commercial mixtape Luv Is Rage (2015), which led to a recording contract with Atlantic Records, to whom they signed under DJ Drama's Generation Now imprint.
Navraj Singh Goraya, known professionally as Nav, is a Canadian rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Nav originally began his career as a producer, co-producing fellow Canadian rapper Drake's single, "Back to Back", in 2015. He then gained mainstream attention in 2016 when his song "Myself" went viral on SoundCloud. Nav is signed to Canadian singer the Weeknd's record label XO and its parent label, Republic Records, and is managed by XO managers Amir "Cash" Esmailian and Wassim "Sal" Slaiby.
Terry Sanchez Wallace Jr., known professionally as Tee Grizzley, is an American rapper best known for his singles "First Day Out", "No Effort", "Colors", and "From the D to the A".
Nav is the eponymous debut commercial mixtape by Canadian rapper and record producer Nav. It was released through XO and Republic Records on February 24, 2017. The mixtape features a sole guest appearance from Canadian singer-songwriter and XO label boss the Weeknd, who appears on the lead single of the project, "Some Way". Nav handled most of the production himself, with some tracks featuring co-production from other record producers such as Metro Boomin, Rex Kudo, Frost, and DannyBoyStyles. The mixtape received generally mixed to negative reviews from critics, with a 42% score on Metacritic.
Perfect Timing is a collaborative mixtape by Canadian rapper and record producer Nav and American record producer Metro Boomin. It was released on July 21, 2017, by Boominati Worldwide, XO, and Republic Records. The mixtape contains production from Metro Boomin, Nav, Pi'erre Bourne, and Southside among others, and features guest appearances from Lil Uzi Vert, Playboi Carti, Offset, 21 Savage, Nav's fellow labelmate Belly, and Gucci Mane. It was supported by two singles: "Perfect Timing (Intro)" and "Call Me". In 2023, Nav and Metro announced a sequel to the album simply called “Perfect Timing 2“
"Some Way" is the debut single by Canadian rapper Nav featuring Canadian singer the Weeknd. It was released through XO and Republic Records as the lead single from Nav's self-titled debut mixtape on February 15, 2017. The song was written by the two artists and solely produced by Nav.
Playboi Carti is the debut mixtape by American rapper Playboi Carti. It was released on April 14, 2017, by AWGE Label and Interscope Records. The mixtape features production from Pi'erre Bourne, Southside and others, and guest appearances from American rappers Lil Uzi Vert, ASAP Rocky, and Dutch singer Leven Kali. The physical version of the mixtape was released on October 6, 2017, and a vinyl edition was released on November 17, 2017.
Derek Fifi "Wise" Bissue, is a Canadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. He was formerly signed to Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd's record label, XO and Republic Records, under the hip hop duo 88Glam with his friend, fellow Canadian rapper 88Camino.
88Glam was a Canadian hip hop duo that formed in 2017 by Shakqueel "88Camino" Burthwright and Derek "Wise" Bissue. They were formerly signed to XO and Republic Records before getting dropped in 2020 and frequently collaborated with Nav, their now-former labelmate from the two labels.
Shakqueel Malcolm De’shon Burthwright, known professionally as 88Camino, is a Canadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. He was formerly signed to Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd's record label, XO and Republic Records, under the hip hop duo 88Glam with his friend, fellow Canadian rapper Derek Wise.
Caleb Zackery "Don" Toliver is an American rapper and singer-songwriter. He released his first major label mixtape, Donny Womack, in August 2018. He is known for his singles "No Idea" and "After Party", from his debut studio album, Heaven or Hell (2020), which gained popularity on the video-sharing app TikTok, as well as his feature on fellow rapper and label-boss Travis Scott's song "Can't Say", from Scott's third studio album, Astroworld. In August 2020, he was featured alongside Nav and Gunna on the song "Lemonade" by Internet Money, becoming his first top-10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100.
88Glam2 is the debut studio album by Canadian hip hop duo 88Glam. It was released through XO Records and Republic Records on November 16, 2018. The album features guest appearances from Nav and Gunna. Production was handled by 88Glam duo members Derek Wise and 88Camino themselves, as well as Villa Beatz, AlexOnWeed, Yung Shrimp Tempura, AAA Gray, Joseph L'étranger, Take a Daytrip, Russ Chell, Money Musik, Trouble Trouble, Frost, Rex Kudo, Sevn Thomas, Maaly Raw, Pro Logic, Dez Wright, Cubeatz, and Zancanella. The album was re-released under the name 88Glam2.5 on April 5, 2019. It contains two additional remixes of the songs "Snow Globe" and "Lil Boat", which add features from Nav and Lil Yachty, respectively. The album serves as 88Glam's last release under XO and Republic as they were dropped from both labels in early 2020.
Bad Habits is the second studio album by Canadian rapper Nav. It was released through XO Records and Republic Records on March 22, 2019. The album features guest appearances from The Weeknd, Meek Mill, Young Thug, Gunna, and Lil Durk. The deluxe edition was released four days later on March 26, 2019. It features additional guest appearances from Future and then-XO labelmate duo 88Glam. It follows his previous album, Reckless (2018), as well as his unofficial Brown Boy EP, released a week and a day before Bad Habits. The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, becoming Nav's first US chart-topping album.
"Price on My Head" is a song by Canadian rapper Nav, featuring vocals from Canadian singer the Weeknd. The song was released through XO Records and Republic Records as the second single from Nav's second studio album, Bad Habits, on March 26, 2019. The song marks Nav and the Weeknd's second collaboration since Nav's single, "Some Way" from his self-titled mixtape (2017). The song was produced by Derek Wise from Canadian hip hop duo 88Glam and AlexOnWeed.
Amir Esmailian, also known as Cash and Cash XO, is an Iranian-Canadian music industry executive, talent manager, and record producer. He is the co-founder of XO Records and the co-manager of the label's primary artist, singer the Weeknd. He has executively produced albums and songs for artists such as Nav and The Carters.
"Turks" is a song by Canadian rapper Nav and American rapper Gunna featuring fellow American rapper and singer Travis Scott. It was released on March 27, 2020, through XO and Republic as the only single from the former's third studio album, Good Intentions. The song was written by the artists alongside Cash XO and producer Wheezy. The official music video was released on March 30, 2020. The title of the song is a reference to the Turks and Caicos Islands. The three artists previously collaborated on Scott's single "Yosemite", from his third studio album, Astroworld (2018).
Emergency Tsunami is the second commercial mixtape by Canadian rapper Nav. It was released through XO and Republic Records on November 6, 2020. The mixtape contains guest appearances from Gunna, Young Thug, Lil Baby, Lil Keed, and SahBabii. It was produced by American record producer Wheezy, with help from other producers. The mixtape was Nav's third project of the year, following his third studio album, Good Intentions, and its deluxe reissue, Brown Boy 2. The bonus version of the mixtape, including two additional songs, was released five days later, on November 11, 2020. It features an additional guest appearance from Future. It was Wheezy's second time producing every song of a project, following Gunna's extended play, Drip or Drown, in 2017. The cover of the mixtape says "emergency tsunami" in red letters in Japanese. The mixtape was supported by one single, "Young Wheezy", with Gunna, which was sent to US rhythmic contemporary radio, on January 12, 2021.
"Bali" is a song by Canadian hip hop duo 88Glam, featuring vocals from Canadian rapper Nav. It was released independently by 88Glam as the second single from their self-titled debut mixtape on November 7, 2017, along with the mixtape. The two 88Glam members, Derek Wise and 88Camino, and Nav wrote the song with producers AlexOnWeed and Villa Beatz. The remix of the song also adds a feature from American rapper 2 Chainz and was released as part of the reloaded version of the mixtape on April 20, 2018. The song reached number 62 on the Canadian Hot 100 and was certified platinum by Music Canada.
