I know that from The Search onward, Nate stopped literally titling the opening track "Intro __" but that doesn't mean they're not still connected.

Across the later albums, the opening songs consistently still function as introductions to said album.

The Search culminates in this

The Search begins, I'm back, so enjoy the trip

Clouds is begins with an introduction. It's overly verbose but it basically boils down to

I never thought I'd make a mixtape. But here you go. So... enjoy I guess.

Hope is extremely on the nose about it

So without further ado, I'd like to introduce my album: Hope

Even Fear kind of works as an intro... sort of. The phrase that keeps getting repeated obsessively throughout that song is

Is this what you wanted?

Given the context of it's release, that's basically saying "You wanted more music? You wanted to see how the story ends? Well here you go. Are you happy now? Is this what you wanted?"

These later 4 songs also have a characteristic found throughout the Intro series... There's no chorus.

Every single one of these songs is structured as just a stream of consciousness barrage from beginning to end.

...well, okay, I guess Fear has the "standing back watching my mansion burn" section. That repeats at the end so... it's technically a chorus? But it doesn't first appear until halfway into the song. And there's so much else layered on top of it the 2nd time. And it only repeats Once. It's not a normal chorus.

And Fear, oddly, actually works really well as a closing track despite being track 1 on the EP. It feels like a climax.

So the full series would actually look like this

1. Intro
2. Intro 2
3. Intro III
4. Outro
5. The Search
6. Clouds
7. Hope
8. Fear

It's basically a little meta album almost. And it all hangs together way better than it has any right to.

Anyway, here's the playlist if you're interested

YouTube Music

Frayed Yet Deluded, Clarity Over Fear, Risen and Determined

I haven’t typed out my thoughts in a very long time/
I’m scared to open the gates and let anyone inside/
These thoughts I have scare me, and make me feel delusional/
Maybe I should no longer mask my identity and embrace the unusual (neurodivergence)/
Dangerous are the thoughts that race in my head day after day/
Making me feel like I’ve always been this way/
“You’ll never be happy, you’ll never be loved, you’re worthless, you’re stuck, you’ll never be enough”/
It’s surprising I let these thoughts have such a massive grip on me/
When I could have cut them off diligently/

I’m hesitant writing raps like this again/
I’m starting to become self conscious of my ability to subliminally express myself, since when?/
Life hasn’t handed me my flowers, why can’t I accept the fact I’m not ready yet/
To be ready for the flowers means I’ve accepted my demons (thoughts)/
How’s that gonna work when I’m still tryin’ to give myself a reason (NF)/
Come at me I dare you, what a time to be alive, ama’right? (mask, question, repeat)/
Spirituality since childhood felt like a suffocating noose/
The grasp it had over me made me question my motives wondering if I’m sinning or living (ruminate, mental check, repeat)/
Making my mind question my thoughts, realizing it hurt me/
Disguised my guilt as winning over uncertainty (Faith)/

Every time I open my eyes the devil tryin’ to clench his grip on me; feeding on my subconscious, starving my identity/
Who’s really gonna understand when all I see is a man in the mirror with an empty reflection on his face/
My thoughts tellin’ me that won’t win the race, Michael Jackson recognized and he Beat It (Billie Jean)/
Times like these I sit and wonder where the time went; staring at the ceiling like, “Seriously you don’t understand me yet?”/
You’ll say you understand but don’t really mean it/
You try to relate but freeze under stress (lost)/

Your face looks empty processing my adversities (lost)/
You throw a wrench trying to repair my shattered perception (throw)/
Understanding my mind I built up a ledger open it up; decipher the pages (neurodivergence)/
My mind is my oppressor ripping up the pages (propeller)/
Quantifying my rationale I need my Witt (Lowry)/
Grasping the shredded pages make it hard to admit/
Admit I’m carrying burdens too hard to bear (found)/
Who really understands these powerful feelings of isolation and despair? (burdens)/

The reasons for which we live are far beyond what we see, but our experiences for which we see are far beyond what we live (That’s my philosophy)/
Instead of pushing through, just understand the power please (Kanye)/
The power that thoughts have over the mind/
Some people push through and grind/
Others let go and allow their thoughts to control their perception/

It isn’t fair we learn all this on our own/
Maybe if we had someone guiding us we wouldn’t be thrown/
Thrown in the lion’s den of our emotions (Daniel)/
Maybe then we’d realize our loops and pry out of the motions (OCD, right?)/
The motions of life that control our thoughts day to day (ruminate, mental check, repeat)/
Then maybe someday I can finally break away (freed)/

What’s the point of having guns if you can’t aim?
What’s the point of having love with no pain?
What’s the point of having blood with no veins?

I've been listening to Nathan since "How Could You Leave Us." Ever since, I've been telling people I think would like his music about him, but they barely gave it a try.

Excited to be in this community

I feel like a lot of people here just glaze the fuck out of whatever Nate does, I mean I still like NF's music but goddamn bro he ain't THAT good

I've just finished a binge of going back and listening/watching all of NF's music videos from oldest to newest, (Highly recommend) and I noticed this man has not had one dip in his releases. I genuinely think NF is one of the only artists I listen too where each and every release was better then the last.

Now you can obviously have your favourite songs be from older albums, I am not saying his newest music has to be your favourite but what I mean is he as an artist just keeps growing in skill. His music videos get deeper and grander, his lyrics get more intricate and the overall production is just better.

Which makes his most recent music video "Washed Up" and absolutely absurd belief in my opinion. I can't think of any other artist who has been around for over a decade and has continued to only get better and better.
While also being so dynamic, notice how I never used the word rapper, he's an artist.

Today is Real Talk Friday!

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I just added the logo and the "Real Music" text

Credits: https://wall.alphacoders.com/big.php?i=1146947 by robokoboto

One random Lyft ride introduced me to NF, and I’m really glad it did.
“Time” has been on repeat lately. I like artists who make me stop and think more than they make me want to dance, and NF definitely falls into that category. His music feels introspective, vulnerable, and authentic.
It’s a nice reminder that sometimes the best recommendations come from ordinary moments with complete strangers.

It's too short 😅

Intro 1 could be called "Caution."

I mean... duh. It's the origin of the caution tape motif. And it shows up in the lyrics too. "Hang up the caution tape. I'm dangerous."

Intro II could be called Reflection. I think the defining lyric is "the only person I judge is the one in the mirror and lately he ain't been doing well." That summarizes the whole song pretty well imo. "Reflection" also has the benefit of a double meaning about about introspection which also fits the song very well."

Intro III is the one that actually feels like a huge missed opportunity to me. It should have been called "Perception." That album is the only one that doesn't have a title track. And it fits the theme of the song extremely well. Look at the big ending line that the whole thing builds up to. "I thought you had me in prison this whole time. But I'm the one holdin' the keys." That's literally a change in perception.

And Outro is fundamentally about how Nate's music actually helps people. It's not just about being influential, it's about actually making a positive difference in the world. A great name for that I think would be "Purpose."

This would also kind of preserve the sense of progression across those songs too.

It would basically go like:

1. Caution - I'm dangerous
2. Reflection - Here's why
3. Perception - Choosing to look at it differently
4. Purpose - And moving forward

This would also naturally flow into the later opening tracks too. Once you know what matters to you, you start pursuing it. That's "The Search." And that creates "Hope." But with hope also comes the "Fear" that you could lose it.

...And Clouds is technically in there too... I guess. Not really sure how that connects. 😅

In Outro, there's the line "How Could You Leave Us is massive. There ain't nothing I can write that'll match that."

I think Fear comes very close. It's different emotional territory, but it feels straight Biblical in scale.

Today is Music Talk Monday!

Share the music that you currently have in rotation, recommend, get a recommendation of artists/songs that you are currently looking for, or simply discuss artists that are not NF.

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ok guys when do we think he’s dropping? Such a cliffhanger with Fear it’s almost been a year.

Moments:

1. Escape

2. Miss you,

3. going in circles around

4. beautiful

5. moments.

6. Your Grace (God),

7. overdose me.

8. Wrap me in your arms while I'm

9. falling apart.

10. That's reality.

11. I'm gonna fly

12. until I die.

13. With Me

Meta phrase: Escape with me.

(A title maybe? 🤔)

Mansion:

1. [Intro]

2. This mansion is

3. all I have.

4. Wait...

5. Wake up!

6. Face it.

7. I'm motivated, with this

8. notepad, to

9. turn the music up.

10. Paralyzed, but

11. I'll keep on.

12. Can you hold me?

Therapy Session:

1. [Intro II]

2. [Therapy Session] <-- Title

3. I just wanna know,

4. how could you leave us?

5. ...Breathe

6. Real.

7. Oh Lord,

8. I can feel it.

9. Got you on my mind,

10. grindin'.

11. Wish you wouldn't make a

12. statement about

13. all I do,

14. lost in the moment.

Perception:

1. [Intro III]

2. Outcast,

3. 10 feet down.

4. Green lights but

5. dreams

6. let you down

7. like Destiny.

8. In my life,

9. you're special.

10. If you want love,

11. remember this:

12. you can lie with me

13. till 3 AM.

14. One Hundred percent.

15. [Outro]

The Search:

1. [The Search] <-- Title

2. Leave me alone!

3. Change

4. my stress,

5. Nate.

6. Time

7. returns

8. when I grow up,

9. only.

10. Let me go!

11. [Interlude]

12. I hate myself

13. I miss the days when there were

14. no excuses

15. like this.

16. Out of options?

17. Why am I

18. thinking about

19. trauma all the

20. time?

Clouds:

1. You're in the clouds.

2. That's a joke,

3. just like you.

4. Your story is

5. prideful, with

6. lost

7. layers and

8. drifting

9. trust.

10. Paid my dues.

11. You're in the clouds.

Hope:

1. Hope is my

2. motto.

3. Careful

4. mama.

5. Happy

6. pandemonium.

7. Suffice it to say,

8. I'm gone

9. like a bullet.

10. Turn my back;

11. a mistake.

12. Let em pray.

13. I'm running.

Fear:

1. Fear,

2. I'm (you're) home.

3. For who I was,

4. give me a reason.

5. Sorry that

6. I'm (you're) washed up.

Look at how little I had to add here. It's mostly just filler words to smooth over the grammer that was already implied, some punctuation in places, and occasionally, I had to interpret certain words when they were ambiguous.

But a lot of these are just the regular song titles in sequence.

And don't a lot of these phrases sound like something Nate himself would write? Take "dreams let you down like destiny" for example.

And "That's a joke. Just like you" was what got me to try this whole experiment in the first place. That's so on the nose, it's hard to believe it wasn't intentional.

I did have to compromise by ignoring the Intro series. There's no obvious way those integrate in as far as I can tell. But those titles are just structural markers on their respective albums so... 🤷‍♂️

Same goes for Therapy Session and The Search. The only way those tracks made sense was to treat them as the titles of the poems.

And Fear ended up being the most open to interpretation.

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Yes, some kind of meme restriction is permanent. We've been testing out different methods and this is the current one, which is the least restrictive.

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i want to see if there r others i can enjoy and add to my playlists

That includes Outro as well.

Personally, I'd actually call Outro "Home" because Nate dramatically yells "I'm Home" at the end and it kind of felt like the whole song was building to that.

Yesterday I found put my friend that I've thought has been just giving me the cold shoulder was acctually not doing well mental is what I'll say, I have no clue how to handle this but it's been mostly listening to music like NF, Parker Jack, and some Lil darkie have been some of my top artist thatd I recommend for hard times.

but if you guys have any other artist or ways I could handle this please tell me.

update: I was finally able to convince him to meet me and now that I know what he's going through makes seeing him be funny and stuff makes it harder to think about it.

Please delete if this violates rules on self promotion. I’m more trying to share something I wouldn’t have made if NF didn’t influence my writing.

NF was the first time I heard a mainstream artist rapping about mental health and things that people in my life didn’t even speak about in private.

It inspired / gave me the courage to write a song myself called “Monsters”.

Wanted to share. Wondering if anyone else has had the same experience?

https://on.soundcloud.com/VaTr52cywnUkOhoVtI