Get ready for this one, we’re in for a trip.
Nate Feuerstein, better known as NF, has been in the rap and hip-hop game for a little over four years. Starting in 2014, with his EP called NF, to just last year in 2017 with his album Perception hitting number one on the charts of the Billboard 200.
NF’s past albums have been emotional and personal so, going into Perception, I expected the same vibe of internal release. Quite like Eminem, NF has a persona of anger and bottled up emotions with music being the only things that provides relief. In fact, in a 2016 interview on Idolator by Mike Wass, NF admittedly said “Then my biggest influence was Eminem. I started listening to Eminem, which you can hear the influence obviously, when I was like 13 or 14. I pretty much just listened to Eminem for six years. It was pretty much all I listened to and I’m not exaggerating.”
Now to dig into it
The first track of the album is Intro III. Like his past two Intros this one has a story/ confessional feel to it. However, Intro III is different than the others; it is not in the consciousness of NF, but in fact seems more like a bottled up emotion. NF’s character is not in the Intro until the end. Assuming that it is an emotion I would gather that it is fear, based off of information from the lyrics:
“You had me scared for a second, I though we were diggin’ my grave
We did, what, you don’t like bein’ afraid?
It’s a dose of your own medicine
What, you don’t like how it tastes?
My therapist told me don’t bury my issues, but I’ma be honest, man I’m feelin’ great!”
Outcast is exactly how it sounds, non-comformitive, and different. With relation to the album itself it is the track with a greater flow of rap and less choruses. Outside of the album, Outcast resembles NF’s way of rapping, being different and unalike the other top rappers out there. He points this out in his lyric:
“Yeah, I guess I don’t fit the mold of rap
‘Cause I’m respectin’ women
“I heard your record, I was laughin at it”
Maybe they would like me more if I got a little graphic with it
Nah, I don’t wanna blend in with you little rappin’ idiots, I’d rather be the outcast
I ain’t never puttin’ out trash”
In an interview with Lifefm, NF describes why he’s different than other rappers:
“It said in the song it just like didn’t do it for me it…when you’re younger you just kind of do what you see other people do just because it’s a natural thing to do…I’m really into hip-hop so I would just do what I watched other people do and talk about what I saw other people do yeah it just didn’t do it for me man I wanted to be different and music became something different for me personally.” (mentioned at 02:11 of video)
NF may not conform to other rappers but many of his own songs match each other with same qualities. Green Lights, Dreams, and Destiny these three tracks are all about going after your dreams and fulfilling them and your destiny. They are all good songs and have different perspectives–from having the dream, to knowing it is your destiny, then to finally just pushing through and eventually you will have your street full of green lights to blow through. Personally a good flow to the songs is to listen to them as Dreams, Destiny, Green Lights.
With having dreams it takes hard work to really making it. 10 Feet Down and Remember This are the two songs remind you to work hard but to also remind you that there will be sacrifices. Both bring up the metaphor of a cup and that if you want something you have to fill it up.
Let’s go on and talk about track six of the album, which is a banger, but don’t be deceived because it is not about good vibes. Let You Down is relatable on many levels, because let’s be honest now, we all have let somebody down in our lives. Also on Spotify this is the top played song in Perception showing currently with a total amount of over 273 million plays.
In an interview with NME, NF explains the meaning to Let You Down:
“Let you down is about like a lot of different things for me it’s like some things some present things that are going on in my life some things that happened in my past.”
Who ever said bangers needed to be all hyped up, anyway? The realness and rawness in this track has the W in my book.
NF has been very open about himself in all his albums, but very little is known about his family, to the exception of his mother’s overdose that he raps about in a previous album. In My Life there is slight insight to a sibling of his:
“You say, “Mom was always proud” and played the videos of us as kids, I get it”
There is a lot of hardships in this song, NF talks about their sibling being an alcoholic, and smoker, and how they never really fixed issues.
Now while the song seems repetitive with the chorus, and the constant snare tapping, it still is deep and emotional.
Every great album has that one song, the song that is alright but just doesn’t really cut it. You’re Special is that song. Don’t get me wrong it is very sweet–possibly should be considered a ballad–and it is a song to his girlfriend Bridgette Doremus. In all honesty, the slow repetition is the song’s downfall. Perhaps if there were more instruments it could’ve been more successful. Being the least played song on the album, Spotify shows it has a total of just 3 million plays, it does not compare to Let You Down.
But let’s give it to the couple because NF’s lyric turned to reality:
“She got me thinking’ maybe i’ma have to put a ring on it, girl”
Congratulations, you two.
On the topic of love, this bring us to track ten, If You Want Love. Coming second to most played on the album on Spotify it ranks with over 12 million plays.
The song could also be considered a ballad, like You’re Special, due to the slowness of it. Arguably, it is more successful because there is a deeper meaning that everyone, fans, not fans, can relate to. That meaning is that love is a big thing that is always changing. And with love it is usually better to change with it than to hold onto the past of it, because it is always more harmful holding on.
NF has had past failed relationships, who hasn’t? Lie and 3 A.M. are about those failed times. From a liar to someone who hurt him. Nothing like a song to help release that past.
From the beginning of his career NF has said he will keep his music real and honest, also known as being a hundred (which came from his previous songs Real and Therapy Session). With his songs Know and One Hundred that’s what he does. In Know he’s being honest talking about his accomplishments and he’s being honest in his chorus:
“I wanna know what it’s like to be happy
I wanna know what it’s like to wake up in the morning and feel like it’s real when I’m laughin’ (yeah!)
I wanna know what it’s like to sit down with my friends and feel like they might understand me (woo!)
I wanna know that the people around me care less about Grammys and more about family”
NF wants to know these things, and wants to know if other top celebrities who are Grammy winners keep it real. With One Hundred it is straight to the point, he said he will keep it a hundred and that is what he is doing,
There is nothing more stronger than a great ending, Outro depicts that. It starts of saying how dedicated he is to his music and then it goes to a more internal personal struggle that he doesn’t know how his fans will react to future music. Towards the end of the song, he realizes that he does not care to impress others with his music. Instead, it is revealed that he started his movement to create music for those who needed it, not for attention from those who don’t. NF delivers all the time.
Cliffs 