Demons Protected by Angels

On June 27, 2022, Nav took to Twitter to announce the title of the album and shared a screenshot of the tweet on social media.{{cite tweet|user=beatsbynav|number=1541471901779902465|title=My new album will be called "Demons protected by Angels"|date=June 27, 2022|access-date=September 9, 2022}} On July 29, 2022, he released the lead single, "Never Sleep", a collaboration with American rapper Lil Baby, which features fellow American rapper and singer Travis Scott.{{cite web|url=https://www.complex.com/music/nav-travis-scott-lil-baby-never-sleep|title=Nav Reconnects With Travis Scott and Lil Baby on "Never Sleep"|website=Complex|last=Espinoza|first=Joshua|date=July 29, 2022|access-date=September 9, 2022}} The same day the song was released, he was interviewed by Complex, in which he spoke about the album and how it was named:

The album title was inspired by a sweater that my friend had made. And I've begged him to get the sweater. I was like, "Yo, I wanna wear your shit and support my friend's stuff." So he brought it out and it had that on the back of the sweater. And it was very meaningful to me, because he came up with that himself when his mom passed away about a year ago. So I was like, "Wow, that's even better." Like, it actually has a good meeting {{sic}}. So that's why we came up with it. [...] Someone close to me had pointed my eyes toward the sweater. They're like, "Oh, that's fire, can you make an album called that?" But the whole quote on this sweater was "fighting demons protected by angels." We thought it was too long. Then one of my producers had mentioned, "Maybe we should take the 'fighting' out." We thought about it, and called our friends to ask them their opinion. We all said it's kind of dope. Then one day we were playing dominoes in the studio, and I just randomly asked him, 'How'd you come up with that?' He found that on Google, and then he told me where it's from. It was even more meaningful.{{cite web|url=https://www.complex.com/music/nav-interview-never-sleep/|title=Nav, Before the Storm|website=Complex|last=Blanchet|first=Brenton|date=July 29, 2022|access-date=September 9, 2022}}

On August 23, 2022, Nav released the second single of the album, "Wrong Decisions".{{cite web|url=https://www.complex.com/music/nav-wrong-decisions-stream-video|title=Nav Shares Video for New Track "Wrong Decisions"|website=Complex|last=Shifferaw|first=Abel|date=August 23, 2022|access-date=September 9, 2022}} Exactly one week later, he revealed the release date, along with a trailer video that revealed the guest artists, which did not include American rapper Gunna on the list at the time.{{cite web|url=https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/nav-shares-demons-protected-by-angels-release-date-and-features-news.157102.html|title=Nav Shares "Demons Protected By Angels" Release Date & Features|website=HotNewHipHop|author=Aron A.|date=August 30, 2022|access-date=September 9, 2022}} On September 5, 2022, Nav shared the cover art for the album.{{cite web|url=https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/nav-unveils-artwork-for-demons-protected-by-angels-news.157404.html|title=Nav Unveils Artwork For "Demons Protected By Angels"|website=HotNewHipHop|last=Blake|first=Cole|date=September 5, 2022|access-date=September 9, 2022}} He revealed the tracklist in collaboration with Spotify hip hop playlist RapCaviar the following day.{{cite web|url=https://hypebeast.com/2022/9/nav-demons-protected-by-angels-features|title=NAV Reveals Full 'Demons Protected by Angels' Tracklist|website=Hypebeast|last=Kearns|first=Sarah|date=September 6, 2022|access-date=September 9, 2022}} On September 8, 2022, the day before the album was released, Nav was interviewed by Canadian-American YouTube channel Nelk's Full Send Podcast, in which he revealed that he recorded a song with fellow Canadian rapper and singer Drake, but he decided to not include it on the album because he felt that they "could've done a better song and the timeframe was just not good" and along with the latter is "such a big artist" that he did not want the song to "take away from anything else on the album".{{cite web|url=https://hiphopdx.com/news/id.73288/title.nav-drake-demons-protected-by-angels|title=Nav Explains Why He Left Drake Off 'Demons Protected By Angels'|work=HipHopDX|last=Saponara|first=Michael|date=September 9, 2022|access-date=September 9, 2022}} On September 13, 2022, "One Time", a collaboration with American rapper and singer Don Toliver, which features fellow American rapper Future, was released as the third and final single of the album.{{cite web|url=https://hypebeast.com/2022/9/nav-future-don-toliver-one-time-music-video-release|title=NAV Teams up With Future and Don Toliver in New Visuals for "One Time"|website=Hypebeast|last=Li|first=Joyce|date=September 14, 2022|access-date=September 14, 2022|quote=Following the release of his most recent album Demons Protected By Angels, NAV has dropped new visuals for his single "One Time" featuring Future and Don Toliver.}}

{{Music ratings

| MC = 59/100{{Cite web |date=2022-09-09 |title=Demons Protected by Angels by NAV Reviews and Tracks |url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/demons-protected-by-angels/nav |access-date=2023-08-30 |website=Metacritic}}

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite web |last1=Staff |first1=TiVo |title=Demons Protected by Angels - NAV |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/demons-protected-by-angels-mw0003802340 |website=AllMusic}}

| rev2 = Pitchfork

| rev2score = 6.2/10{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/nav-demons-protected-by-angels/|title=Nav: Demons Protected by Angels Album Review|website=Pitchfork|last=Ritchie|first=Matthew|date=September 15, 2022|access-date=September 15, 2022}}

| rev3 = Slant Magazine

| rev3score = {{Rating|2|5}}{{Cite web|last=Attard|first=Paul|title=Nav Demons Protected by Angels Review: Combative but Passionless|url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/nav-demons-protected-by-angels-album-review/|access-date=September 13, 2022|website=Slant Magazine|date=13 September 2022}}

}}

Demons Protected by Angels was met with generally mixed reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 59 based on 4 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Writing for Pitchfork, Matthew Ritchie felt that Nav "attempts to shift focus away from the beats and features, finally treating the songs like they're his own" and "Nav lets extended moments of true self-awareness break through his manicured shell, momentarily deviating from the soulless bars that often fill his albums", but conversely added that "ceding too much room to guests undermines Nav's individuality and causes the star-powered tracks to veer toward the generic".

Demons Protected by Angels debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart, earning 67,000 album-equivalent units, of which 26,000 were in pure album sales in its first week.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/bad-bunny-un-verano-sin-ti-billboard-200-chart-number-one-most-weeks-2016-1235140844/|title=Bad Bunny's 'Un Verano Sin Ti' Has Most Weeks at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Since 2016|magazine=Billboard|access-date=September 24, 2022}} It serves as Nav's fifth consecutive top-ten album in the country.{{cite web|url=https://www.complex.com/music/nav-no-2-billboard-top-200|title=Nav's Demons Protected By Angels Debuts at No. 2 on Billboard Top 200

|work=Complex|access-date=September 24, 2022}} The album also accumulated a total of 60.13 million on-demand streams of the album's songs during the tracking week.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/bad-bunny-un-verano-sin-ti-billboard-200-chart-number-one-most-weeks-2016-1235140844/|title=Bad Bunny's 'Un Verano Sin Ti' Has Most Weeks at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Since 2016|magazine=Billboard|access-date=September 24, 2022}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Demons Protected by Angels track listing

| total_length = 52:03

| extra_column = Producer(s)

| title1 = Count on Me (Intro)

| writer1 = {{hlist|Navraj Goraya|Masamune Kudo|Aaron Cheung|Carlton McDowell, Jr.|Reece Weinberg|Michael Dean}}

| extra1 = {{hlist|Nav|Rex Kudo|Aaron Paris|McDowell|Reece|Mike Dean{{ref|a|[a]}}}}

| length1 = 2:06

| title2 = Baby

| writer2 = {{hlist|Goraya|Matthew Samuels|Mohkom Bhangal|Julius Herold|Emile Hilaire}}

| extra2 = {{hlist|Nav|Boi-1da|Money Musik|Millaire|Darko|Smplgtwy|Zubnid}}

| length2 = 2:42

| title3 = Dead Shot

| note3 = with Lil Uzi Vert

| writer3 = {{hlist|Goraya|Symere Woods|Amir Esmailian|Andrew Franklin}}

| extra3 = Pro Logic

| length3 = 3:01

| title4 = Never Sleep

| note4 = with Lil Baby featuring Travis Scott

| writer4 = {{hlist|Goraya|Dominique Jones|Jacques Webster II|Brytavious Chambers|Grayson Serio|Dean}}

| extra4 = {{hlist|Tay Keith|Grayson|Dean{{ref|a|[a]}}}}

| length4 = 3:05

| title5 = Last of the Mohicans

| writer5 = {{hlist|Goraya|Bhangal|Joe Talamo}}

| extra5 = {{hlist|Nav|Money Musik|Oscar Zulu}}

| length5 = 2:50

| title6 = One Time

| note6 = with Don Toliver featuring Future

| writer6 = {{hlist|Goraya|Caleb Toliver|Nayvadius Wilburn|Esmailian|Wesley Glass|Dylan Cleary-Krell}}

| extra6 = {{hlist|Wheezy|Dez Wright{{ref|a|[a]}}}}

| length6 = 3:09

| title7 = Demons in My Cup

| writer7 = {{hlist|Goraya|James Addison}}

| extra7 = BenjiCold

| length7 = 2:42

| title8 = Playa

| note8 = with Gunna

| writer8 = {{hlist|Goraya|Sergio Kitchens|Franklin|Andrea de Bernardi}}

| extra8 = {{hlist|Pro Logic|Alawais|Prodbyace{{ref|a|[a]}}}}

| length8 = 2:19

| title9 = Weirdo

| writer9 = {{hlist|Goraya|Esmailian|Glass|Chandler Ingram}}

| extra9 = {{hlist|Wheezy|Ghostrage{{ref|a|[a]}}}}

| length9 = 2:00

| title10 = My Dawg

| note10 = with Lil Durk

| writer10 = {{hlist|Goraya|Durk Banks|Esmailian|Franklin|Keanu Torres|Fabio Aguilar}}

| extra10 = {{hlist|Nav|Pro Logic|Keanu Beats|Aguilar}}

| length10 = 3:17

| title11 = Don't Compare

| writer11 = {{hlist|Goraya|McDowell}}

| extra11 = {{hlist|Nav|McDowell}}

| length11 = 2:41

| title12 = Interstellar

| note12 = with Lil Uzi Vert

| writer12 = {{hlist|Goraya|Woods|Esmailian|Franklin|Patrick Piscot|Jeppe Jacobsen}}

| extra12 = {{hlist|Nav|Pro Logic|Piscot|Jacobsen{{ref|a|[a]}}}}

| length12 = 2:44

| title13 = Loaded

| writer13 = {{hlist|Goraya|Franklin|Bhangal|James Cyr|Yan Cortequisse}}

| extra13 = {{hlist|Nav|Money Musik|London Cyr|Yeeshy}}

| length13 = 2:48

| title14 = Lost Me

| note14 = with RealestK

| writer14 = {{hlist|Goraya|Rony Kordab|Esmailian|Luke Honeywood|Patrick Bodi}}

| extra14 = {{hlist|Nav|Money Musik|Honeywoods|Bodi}}

| length14 = 3:06

| title15 = Reset

| note15 = with Bryson Tiller

| writer15 = {{hlist|Goraya|Bryson Tiller|Esmailian|Franklin}}

| extra15 = {{hlist|Nav|Cash|Pro Logic}}

| length15 = 3:00

| title16 = Mismatch

| note16 = with Babyface Ray

| writer16 = {{hlist|Goraya|Marcellus Register|Esmailian|Glass|Bhangal}}

| extra16 = {{hlist|Wheezy|Money Musik}}

| length16 = 2:07

| title17 = Wrong Decisions

| writer17 = {{hlist|Goraya|Kudo|Cheung|McDowell}}

| extra17 = Nav

| length17 = 2:59

| title18 = Destiny

| writer18 = {{hlist|Goraya|Sugar-Ray Henry|Andreas Bigum}}

| extra18 = {{hlist|Frost|Chanelbigs}}

| length18 = 1:52

| title19 = Ball in Peace (Outro)

| writer19 = {{hlist|Goraya|Dean}}

| extra19 = {{hlist|Nav|Dean{{ref|a|[a]}}}}

| length19 = 3:37

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Bonus track

| total_length = 55:18

| extra_column = Producer(s)

| title20 = Lemonade

| note20 = performed by Internet Money, Gunna, and Don Toliver featuring Nav

| writer20 = {{hlist|Danny Snodgrass, Jr.|Nicholas Mira|Alec Wigdahl|Henry Nichols|Elias Latrou|Kitchens|Toliver|Goraya|Jonathan Mitchell|Jocelyn Donald|Donny Flores}}

| extra20 = {{hlist|Taz Taylor|Nick Mira|Wigdahl|E-Trou|Pharaoh Vice}}

| length20 = 3:15

}}

Notes

• {{sup|{{note|a|[a]}}}} signifies a co-producer

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |+ Weekly chart performance for Demons Protected by Angels ! scope="col"| Chart (2022) ! scope="col"| Peak position

{{album chart|BillboardCanada|2|artist=Nav|rowheader=true|access-date=September 20, 2022}}

{{album chart|France|167|artist=Nav|album=Demons Protected by Angels|rowheader=true|access-date=September 20, 2022}}

{{album chart|Switzerland|92|artist=Nav|album=Demons Protected by Angels|rowheader=true|access-date=September 18, 2022}}

{{album chart|UK2|55|date=20220916|rowheader=true|access-date=September 16, 2022}}

{{album chart|Billboard200|2|artist=Nav|rowheader=true|access-date=September 18, 2022}}

{{album chart|BillboardRandBHipHop|1|artist=Nav|rowheader=true|access-date=September 20, 2022}}

{{col-2}}

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |+ Year-end chart performance for Demons Protected by Angels ! scope="col"| Chart (2022) ! scope="col"| Position
scope="row"| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard){{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2022/top-r-and-b-hip-hop-albums/|title=Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2022|magazine=Billboard|access-date=December 10, 2022}} | 93

{{col-end}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Nav}}

Category:2022 albums

Category:Nav (rapper) albums

Category:Republic Records albums

Category:Albums produced by Nav (rapper)

Category:Albums produced by Boi-1da

Category:Albums produced by Mike Dean (record producer)

Category:Albums produced by Tay Keith

Category:Albums produced by Wheezy

Category:XO (record label) albums