A Guide to NF the Rappper
It’s not everyday an artist that you’ve probably never heard of tops the Billboard Top 200 charts, but that happened last week when rapper NF (Nate Feuerstein) scored his first No. 1 album. He first arrived on the big chart with his 2015 release Mansion (reaching No. 62) and followed it up in 2016 with Therapy Session (peaked at No. 12.) While his third full-length studio album, Perception, is the smallest for a No. 1-debuting album in 2017 it’s still impressive for never having a song on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart.
#1 on Billboard thanks to you guys !!Thank you to every single person involved in this album. #perception🗝
— NF (@nfrealmusic) October 16, 2017
NF is 26 years old, hales from Gladwin, Michigan and is someone who isn’t afraid to rap with emotion, energy, anger and lots of questions. One word to describe his music is heavy. However, it’s his rawness that has helped many fans deal with their life’s struggles as he deliver’s his rhymes in the most realistic way possible.
You’ve probably heard his latest single (currently No. 87 on the Billboard Hot 100) on the U92 Airwaves. It’s titled “Let you Down.”
I stumbled upon his first studio album, Mansion, which came out in March 2015 and have been a fan of him ever since. While listening to the raw emotion he displayed in each track I got an Eminem vibe from him. The fury and anger conveyed in almost every song is what made me draw the comparison between the two artists, although I’m sure both artists would likely dispute the comparisons to some extent. Both rappers aren’t afraid to tell listeners about how hard their life has been, nor do they hold anything back on their albums. The biggest difference between the two artists is that NF doesn’t resort to explicit language like Eminem does and delivers it in a real way that feels much different from Eminem. NF is often called a Christian rapper, but most of his songs are not overtly Christian.
To this date, the most emotional track, in my opinion, would be “How Could You Leave Us” off his Sophomore album, Therapy Session.
He uses this song as a platform to tell his deceased mother how much pain he still has to sift through because she chose pills over her family. It is a raw reflection of what life feels like when families are left sorting through the wreckage of drug abuse, and presents itself from the bottom of a heart that still fights with so many questions on a daily basis.
One things is very clear with NF’s albums: He uses music as a dose of medicine and hopes that you can as well.
You can purchase his latest album, Perception, on iTunes.
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