I was asked to cover NF. at Irving Plaza in NYC by a very friendly PR rep named Maggie. With no plans for the given day, I happily agreed. NF. wasn’t even on my musical radar, but I was excited from my brief Spotify recap, and the description Maggie gave me over email. She wrote: “Throughout a childhood riddled with tragedy, NF. found solace in music at an early age. Sitting in his parents’ van, he’d write songs for hours, recording freestyle raps on a karaoke machine. His debut album, Therapy Session, was released via Capitol Music Group in April 2016. It reached #1 on the Billboard Hip-Hop chart and successfully entered the Billboard Top Ten Albums chart. With over 65k albums sold, 55m total streams, 728k monthly Spotify listeners, and multiple sold out dates on his nationwide Therapy Session tour, NF is becoming music’s new artist to watch.”
So my plus one and I traveled to Union Square and you could say we were---surprised. Upon arriving, even though his statistics were impressive, I wasn’t really expecting much. I was thinking he was a wanna-be Eminem, or a less popular G-Eazy; however, my opinion QUICKLY changed. NF. turned the stage into his own church, preaching to the choir on matters that influenced him, and spitting the most creative rhymes.
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I was completely amazed when NF. performed his song about his mother who committed suicide by curling up in a ball in the corner of the stage and rocking back-and-forth as he poured his heart out. The pain he portrayed was unimaginable and NF. had me crying at a “rap” concert.
Not only was the concert emotional, but it was also upbeat. NF. was jumping around the stage for an hour while rapping- a true cardio performance. He proved to the audience to be a dynamic performer who was able to pull out various types of cards: good rhymes, spirituality, an energetic performance and honest storytelling.
I had the pleasure of meeting Nate (NF.’s first name) backstage. And I was entirely impressed by his charm and friendliness as well. My friend, a few other journalists, Maggie, and myself were in hysterics laughing with him. We talked about a wide variety of subjects, for example: how when you grow up all you want for Christmas is socks and underwear, the amazing powers of Walmart, and the horror of shopping in NYC chain stores. Eventually, his PR team said it was time to go, however he was never dull or even predictable for a minute. I could have supported the artist over his true talent, but his ability to hold interesting and funny conversations, really made me like him!
My friend and I left the venue by the stage door and had a chance to visit with some of his fans. I would like to give a quick shout out to Gustavo Villacorta from Yonkers, NY, Nils Sprenger from Kiel, Germany, and Adrian Henriquez from Bronxville, NY for giving me MANY reasons to love NF. These three young gentleman explained to me how Nate has influenced their lives and the hardships they have gone through. Talented performer, poet, evangelist, musician and genuinely good guy.
Check out NF. here: http://www.nfrealmusic.com/
or here: https://twitter.com/nfrealmusic?ref_src=twsrc^go...
or even here:
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