Hope: NF’s Journey from Pain to Hope

NF (Nate Feuerstein) is an American rapper known for his strong emotions style of music. Initially emerging in 2010, NF gained wider attention after his 2015 album Mansion and 2016 follow-up Therapy Session both reached number one on the Christian charts. That success set the stage for his 2017 breakthrough. Buoyed by the Top 20 hit “Let You Down,” Perception hit number one on the Billboard 200. NF’s second Billboard 200 chart-topper, The Search, arrived in 2019 and was followed in 2021 by the mixtape Clouds and in 2023 by Hope.

Hope is NF’s upcoming fifth studio Album set to be released in 07 April, 2023, and this project seem to be a calm exhale from all the pains he has being through as described in his albums.

Mansion, which was about his struggle and hustle to succeed and be taken serious while locking all his pain and anger up because he is to scared to face them. He also talked about his believe in God and this faith is evident throughout his career and he never shied away from talking about it in all his albums.

In Therapy Session he talked about how important his music is, the pain that accompanies them and the healing and therapy he and his fans gets from it. He also talked about his heartbreaks, rejections and how strong his continuous believe ad Faith in God. Particularly, in track 4, he talked about his mother’s addiction to drug which led to her death, the pain this brought him and him not being able to forgive her for choosing drugs over her children and all the milestones she missed.

In Perception, Nf realised he had been holding the key to his freedom all along but was too scared to until he faced, conquered and buried that fear that crept into his Mansion and became part of him in his backyard (or the back of his mind) and this began his journey to recovery. Burying his fears felt great and gave him the deserved courage and boldness needed to face the and tell them how great he actually is, announcing how far his music will still and how loud it would shake the industry. He also began to understand and feel physical love while still holding unto his faith in God for complete redemption.

The Search is a new path way, where he searched for his real self, for difference, for change, for a better self and leaving his negativity behind and be free. He assured himself that all he had gone through was to help him grow, in track five (5) he sent a message to his younger self, encouraging to stay strong and everything will get better. To me here is where Hope started.

The second part of search deals with his depression and sadness and he ended the album with Time, saying all he need/ all it takes is time and cloud will come and go.

Clouds is a mixtape, but what stood-up for me is STORY, he told a story of him going to the gas station and experienced the a robbery by his neighbor’s boyfriend and how he has shot dead along side his partner. Something like that creates trauma. According to NF via Apple Music he said this:

CLOUDS (THE MIXTAPE) is a short project I wanted to put out while I work on my next full-length album. It’s really just something for the fans to have while they wait.

NF via Apple Music

HOPE” is NF’s long awaited fifth studio album, released on April 7th, 2023.

It was announced through the album’s lead single, HOPE, released on February 16th, 2023. This will mark NF’s first full-length studio album in over 3 years. Based the released track list and what we’ve seen so far, it going to a different massive album. I will objectively say it will different and one of a kind. It is known that NF reached out to his subscribed fans, inviting them to join him in Nashville for the video shoot of Hope (song).

The below images is from Genius

Another wonderful thing about this album is the track four (4), we remembered well that the track four (4) of Therapy Session was about his mother’s death and pain it filled him with. He said in that track he doesn’t think he will forgive her. Track four (4) of HOPE is title MAMA, and from the preview NF released, we heard him say he forgive her … What a transformation.

Objectively, I would say Hope is about forgiveness, happiness and a bright hope of the good things to come. I can’t wait for the release date so I drown myself in it.

Below is the album list with the first two songs already released

• Hope (released)
• Motto (released)
• Careful ft Cordae
• Mama
• Happy
• Pandemoneum
• Suffice
• Gone ft Julia Michaels
• Bullet
• Turn my back
• Mistake
• Let em pay
• Running

Listen to Hope (single) here

Listen to Motto here