Written by W. Kazi Mbugua, JD, Vice President of All In-House Entertainment and hip-hop critic for emerging artists. Follow me on Instagram @aih_ikazi23 and the label @allinhouseent
California artist, JayDaNavvy, is set to release a new hip-hop/rock blended project called ‘Breakfast At Tiffany’s' on September 13, 2024. As an emerging artist hip-hop fanatic, I had the distinct honor of listening to the album before its release and providing my critic to the listeners. All in all, this is just one woman's opinion (i.e. a woman who has spent a copious amount of time listening to music, studying the art of hip-hop, and who works with artists day in and day out). Nonetheless, music is a subjective experience so I encourage everyone to check out the album, despite my critics, and be the judge for yourself. Did I get it right when it comes to JayDaNavyy's new album!? Let me know in the comments!
Track 1 Intro
Off the bat! This is an album for hip-hop fans who love a great cinematic entrance to an album. JayDaNavyy opens with a beautiful foley, painting a vivid picture of him walking into the scene, ready to meet his mystery date on the third floor. Without any visuals, he carries you into his unexpecting journey of entering a hotel and instead, discovering a dinery – Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
Score = 10 outta 10
Track 2 ‘It’s Me’
The first song on the album, ‘It’s Me,’ serves as an intentional opener – introducing himself as an artist who is hated by his adversaries and adored by his fans. The beat has great bounce, and the lyrics are simple enough to sing-a-long too by the end of the first chorus. However, the narrative within the lyrics felt underwhelming and a little played out in respect of the fact that JayDaNavvy is a fairly new artist to the broader market. Personally, I don’t hate him enough to feel offended by his rise to fame, but can’t say that I adore him after the first song on the album. As a listener, ‘It’s Me’ also fell through on actually introducing me to JayDaNavyy. Who is he? At the end of the song, I couldn’t confidently say; but, I hope the rest of the album serves as a proper introduction of who he is as an artist.
Score = 7 outta 10
Track 3 ‘Another Summer’ Ft. Chanice
Immediate head bopper. JayDaNavyy pulled up with his long-time feature and friend, Chanice, to drop a fire anthem for the clubs to vibe too when it comes to ‘Another Summer’. Once you get to the chorus, you can’t help but sing a long and I love how the two artists shared the space throughout the entire track without commandeering the other. That said, I’m not going to lie, I think Chanice may have lyrically outdone Mr. Navyy, albeit by a Noah Lyles type photo finish. Needless to say, JayDaNavyy and Chanice came through with a fun and refreshing hip-hop track that everyone can enjoy.
Score = 8.5 outta 10
Track 4 ‘Mind Wasted’
If pop-rock avenue was the next left turn, then JayDaNavyy is ready to show how far he is willing to take his sound when it comes to ‘Breakfast At Tiffany’s’. I love it. It’s different. It’s refreshing. Ultimately, it shows how daring JayDaNavyy is as an artist to explore different sounds. That said, the song is lyrically very drug heavy and so “playability” takes the biggest hit when thinking about introducing this song to the masses, such as family and friends.
Score = 6.9 outta 10
Track 5 ‘Day Dreaming…’
“Day Dreaming…” piggy backs off the energy of ‘Mind Wasted’ but is much friendlier since it’s about JayDaNavyy missing his special someone and going through the mixed emotions of it all. This is a song I can sing a long too and introduce to a broader audience! While not perfect, the track should put other artists on high alert that JayDaNavyy is coming for the fans most hip-hop artists forgot about.
Score = 7.8 outta 10
Track 6 ‘Anaya’s Skit’
In the midst of this album, we hear from JayDaNavyy’s daughter in ‘Anaya’s Skit’, and she is absolutely adorable. All the fans in the world can’t compare to a kid’s adoration and admiration for their father who is pursuing his artistic endeavors. He truly captured a beautiful moment and found a way to share it with us in the midst of his album.
Score = 9 outta 10
Track 7 ‘They Don’t Like Me’ Ft. Savi6
I really wanted to like this song a lot… but I fell off the bandwagon when it came to the lyrics. If the song was more radio friendly then it would make the skit prior make more sense. Savi6’s verse is relatively clean and enjoyable with solid lyrical firepower from bar to bar. However, I think the lyrical bravado from JayDaNavyy was a bit jarring knowing this is his kid’s favorite song. That said, I think the song has potential – especially a radio version of it. Without the skit, I don’t think I would not have been as sensitive to the lyrics, but given the juxtaposition of the skit, it ultimately begged the question.
Score = 6.5 outta 10
Track 8 ‘The Difference’ Ft. Kid Disciple
‘The Difference’ is by the far the deepest song on the project. In terms of track placement, it was well timed and exceptionally executed. The collaboration between JayDaNavyy and his Pop Smoke sounding feature was impressive to say the least. If the beat was the assignment, then these gentlemen understood what to do. The track packs a powerful punch and broke some rules when it comes to “song making” by deconstructing the chorus. The use of the word “difference” in JayDaNavyy’s verse played a significant role throughout the track as he delivered intentional punch lines at the least suspecting moments.
Score = 8.7 outta 10
Track 9 ‘Run A Muk (Paper Route)’ Ft. Savi6
The second to last track of the album did not disappoint. The beat felt classic, and the topic was familiar. I mostly enjoyed the chorus on this one, because the phrase “run a muk” doesn’t get thrown around enough. Savi6’s verse was another solid performance with creative lines like “imma need that chicken, no soup, no campbell’s.” All in all decent track. Although it lyrically touched on violence, it at least displayed enough creativity throughout the track to hold my attention.
Score = 8 outta 10
Track 10 ‘Don’t Take Your Love Away’
The second half of this album is not to be played with. The last song on the album, ‘Don’t Take Your Love Away,’ is probably the most marketable track off this album and does a great job showcasing JayDaNavyy’s lyrical stamina and creativity when it comes to delivery. The piano at the top of the song is absolutely beautiful and I can only imagine how much energy would be stirred up in a room if JayDaNavyy was to perform this song live. Not all the way hip-hop, but very much so hip-hop. This is my favorite song off the project by far.
Score = 9 outta 10
Total Score = 82% | Solid Project
Overall, ‘Breakfast At Tiffany’s’ did not disappoint. The project from start to finish was incredibly creative, genre daring, and fun. Compared to JayDaNavyy’s last project ‘Traumatized’ released in 2022, ‘Breakfast At Tiffany’s’ album showed vast improvement when it came to his lyrics and delivery as an artist. To top it off, the beat selections were on point and every feature held their own in an impressive manner.
Of course there is always room for improvement. Lyrically, I know JayDaNavyy can dig even deeper. As a fan, I still don’t know much about JayDaNavyy as far as what life experiences shaped him, beyond the surface level of what most music has to offer like money, drugs, guns, and sex. Plus, the topics of drugs and violence not only felt cliché and played out, but a bit inappropriate at times. Taking the music to the next level means speaking about personal truths in a more artistic manner, i.e., metaphors, similes, and other poetic devices, and finding new topics to approach the audience with. Also… what happened to the outro?! I think it would have rounded off the project extremely well.
Without a doubt, I look forward to checking out more music from JayDaNavyy and witnessing his growth as an artist along the way. JayDaNavyy has great potential to become a force of disruption in hip-hop/rap, especially amongst artists who have not found a way to diversify their sound.
Needless to say, JayDaNavvy, well done; consider me a fan.
- W. Kazi Mbugua
Wanjiku Kazi Mbugua is a hip-hop critic, vice president of All In-House Entertainment, and serves as a law clerk for an entertainment law firm in the Bay Area. Contact her at 202-510-1279 if you want your newest release to be reviewed, services from the label, & more.