- ♪ Why would you leave me? ♪ - Oh my god. I'm gonna cry.
- Oh... my god. Is he a Christian rapper?
♪ (industrial intro) ♪
- ♪ People ask me where the future is ♪
- I don't know who this is.
- I have no idea who this is.
- I don't know who it is, I don't. But I've seen this video.
- ♪ You don't like me, that makes four of us ♪
- Honestly, this normally isn't the music I listen to.
- ♪ I'm living life in the fast lane ♪
♪ Wake up every morning, thinking I'ma have a bad day ♪
- Okay, he has bars.
- ♪ Park then I go into my mind with an AK ♪
♪ Shoot every thought in my head then it rotates ♪
- This is pretty good. I like it.
- I bet people are gonna be like, "Oh, he's like Eminem"
or some [bleep]. - For some reason,
I get this Eminem vibe from him.
- I just see a white rapper, I'm like, "Eminem!"
- It's catchy.
- ♪ Even when talking to God ♪ ♪ Sit in my room and I plot ♪
- All right. I don't listen to a lot of rap music,
but that is the kind that I listen to.
- There's nothing there that really has a pizzazz.
It's forgettable.
- He reminded me of a little more aggressive Logic,
'cause Logic types more about social issues.
- ♪ All these voices in my head get loud ♪
- This one, I've heard. - ♪ I wish that I could shut... ♪
- Oh, oh! Okay, I recognize him now.
- (gasps) Yes! I've heard this song.
- ♪ I'm sorry that I let you down ♪ - This sounds super familiar.
I have to have heard this one before.
- ♪ I don't wanna make you disappointed ♪
♪ It's annoying ♪ ♪ I just wanna make you... ♪
- Help him!
- ♪ But I guess the more you thought about everything ♪
♪ You were never even wrong in the first place... ♪
- This video is scary.
- ♪ Please don't come after me ♪ ♪ I just wanna be alone right now ♪
♪ I don't really wanna think at all ♪
- Whoa. - Is that supposed to be his dad
and it's just watching him suffer?
- ♪ I don't even wanna go to your house ♪
♪ Every time I sit on that couch ♪ ♪ I feel like you lecture me ♪
♪ Eventually, I bet that we could have made this work ♪
♪ And probably would've figured things out ♪
- So, mm. This is deep.
- ♪ Oh, you wanna be friends now? ♪ - Oh my gosh.
If you listen to the lyrics, it's really sad.
- ♪ Must have missed that joke ♪
♪ Let me see if I can find a reaction ♪
- (raps along) ♪ Nope, but at least you're happy ♪
It's one of my favorites from him.
This hits for me on a personal level.
- Who hurt you? What happened?
I wanna go hug my dad now.
- I really like when people take rap and make art from it.
It's like spoken word poetry.
- ♪ I don't know what it's like to be addicted to pills ♪
♪ But I do know what it's like to be a witness it kills ♪
- I've seen the video for this one,
and this one makes me so sad.
- ♪ ...relationship is something we will never have ♪
- (sighs) When they put kids like that.
Imagine going through those things when you're a kid.
- ♪ I ain't gonna say that I forgive you
'cause it hasn't happened ♪
♪ I thought that maybe I'd feel better as time passes ♪
♪ If you really cared for me, then where you at then? ♪
♪ Why would you leave us? ♪ - Damn, that's deep.
- ♪ Why would you leave us? ♪
♪ How could you leave us? ♪ - Oh my god. I'm gonna cry.
- ♪ Our last conversation, you and I sat in the living room ♪
♪ Talking about my music, and I brought you some
to listen to ♪ - What would we do without music?
Honestly. - ♪ A couple weeks later,
I guess you were singing a different tune ♪
♪ You took them pills for the last time, didn't you? ♪
♪ It took you from us once ♪ - This is heavy.
- It's good because it's real.
- Holy crap. - (NF) You should've been here.
- Oh my god. - (NF) Pills got you, right?
- Oh, but he has a memory of his mom smiling,
which is cute. - (NF) I wish you were here.
- Woo, Jesus. - I don't know what I would do
if I lost my mom. So to watch this, and then to know people
that have gone through the same struggle, it hurts.
- ♪ Somebody get the body bags ♪ ♪ Working with the beats and ♪
♪ Put the MCs in 'em ♪ ♪ Season 'em ♪
- This is tight. That's cool, an airplane.
- ♪ You rappers ain't hungry enough ♪
- "You rappers ain't hungry enough."
- ♪ I've been through hell all my life, though ♪
♪ But I know where Heaven is ♪ ♪ Father, forgive me
for I am a sinner ♪
♪ But you gave me music as medicine, woo ♪
- Ah, that was such a good... oh my god!
- I like this song.
- ♪ And if God ain't real, real isn't ♪
- Each song he has has a very deep story in it.
I'm shaking. - It hurts to listen to this,
not because it's bad, but because it's so real.
- ♪ All I ever wanted was somebody to heal me ♪
♪ And all I ever wanted was somebody to feel me ♪
- This is an older video of him?
- This was probably some of his first [bleep], huh?
- He looks different in every video. (chuckles)
- ♪ I quit recording ♪ ♪ Quick, record this ♪
♪ Listen, I'm warming up and you're misinformed ♪
♪ If you think... ♪ - This is a really different vibe.
- ♪ Skip the chorus ♪ ♪ I've been here ♪
♪ Ain't nobody heard of me? ♪
♪ Yeah, I'ma turn this beat to a murder scene ♪
- Oh my god.
♪ Don't tell me this ain't how I feel ♪
- He has a good voice.
- ♪ I stand behind these words, and I'm a Christian,
but I'm not perfect ♪ - Is he a Christian rapper?
- Is he Christian?
- ♪ Yeah, it might take a minute to get it ♪
♪ But once you get it, everything will be crystal clear ♪
- Ohh. Check you out.
I actually kind of really like this.
- I've seen it before. I've heard it before.
They're all the same.
- It kind of sounds like a replica Eminem,
just kind of talking about previous kind of...
just [bleep] that you battled with. - That was so good.
I hope they're really listening to what he's saying
and really taking that in, because these are
some serious things that people go through
and talk about and issues that we're having.
And he's tackling them in a really great way.
- (FBE) So those were all music videos from rapper, NF.
- I've never heard of him, but I'm impressed by him.
- Seen his videos on the recommended page on YouTube.
- (FBE) He's one of the most requested artists we've seen
from our fans in a while. - Good.
He needs... oh my god. He is so talented.
- (FBE) But before we dive in to some questions,
we have some lyrics from two of his songs,
"All I Have" and "Real" for you to read
and tell us what you think. - Okay.
- "What you're hearing now is me whether I'm in front
or behind the curtain."
- "I stand behind these words here.
I'm a Christian, but I'm not perfect."
Oh, fire. - Oh... my god.
Is he a Christian rapper?
- "If that's my calling or not, Father,
maybe I should just not bother."
- "Go back to that nine to five, but I am not a quitter,
so quit that." - So I feel like he's kind of saying
that he's been called to be a rapper.
- "Father, forgive me, for I am a sinner.
But you gave me music as medicine, woo."
- "'Cause you know I'm real with it,
don't care if you're feeling it, I'm feeling it."
- "You don't like it? Then deal with it.
And if God ain't real, real isn't."
Wow! - Religion is one of the most
complicated emotional things ever, because everybody feels it
on a different level. It's so interesting
to just hear him kind of flow his emotions straight out
of that place. - (FBE) So NF is signed
to Capital Christian Music Group, an expressly Christian label.
And he's considered by many to be a Christian rapper.
- Wow. I've never heard of that before.
- (FBE) But he doesn't categorize himself as such,
stating, "If you're a Christian and you're a plumber,
are you a Christian plumber?" - No, you're just your thing.
Yeah, there's too many labels for some reason.
- He just considers himself a rapper. That makes sense.
- (FBE) As a Christian yourself, do lyrics like these
in music like this make you connect more,
or would you rather not have religion used like this?
- I think that it makes me connect more to it
just because it's so real. It's just a part of the music,
and if you listen for it, you hear it.
And if you don't wanna hear it, just listen to the song.
- He's taking something that I wouldn't usually listen to
using something that I know that I could relate to
and then kind of making me appreciate it a little bit more.
- I'd kind of rather not have religion in the music,
not necessarily 'cause I'm offended by it. I have faith,
but I'm not super devoted. I like to, you know,
have my music separate. - (FBE) For someone who
is not Christian, does this type of lyric or music turn you off
to the artist or not make you connect as much?
- No, it doesn't matter to me. I'll continue to listen to it
if it has Christian lyrics or not.
- I could care less what his background is.
He's just talking about cool stuff,
and I can relate to what his message is.
- I am not a religious man whatsoever,
but I can appreciate the concept of people needing religion.
And so, I can appreciate the kind of perspective
that he's bringing to the table from a religious viewpoint
even if it's not necessarily my viewpoint.
- (FBE) Well, not only is his music charting
in the Christian hip-hop market, it's also having a major impact
on the mainstream hip-hop market with his latest album, "Perception,"
taking the number one spot on the Billboard charts.
- What? That's so cool. That has to be the first time
that a Christian rapper has done that.
- (FBE) Even though this dual success provides
a wider reach, do you think playing to both a mainstream audience
as well as a more niche Christian audience will help
or hurt his career? - I think if you're
a good enough musician, it should break all barriers.
- He's not only saying,
"Oh, this music is just for Christians,"
or "Oh, this music is just for the secular world,"
you know? It's for everybody!
- The fact that he tries to not label himself
a Christian artist is probably gonna help him
in the mainstream with everybody else.
But the fact that he's Christian also
is gonna pull in the Christians who like that music.
- I don't think it'll necessarily affect the direction his career goes
because he's not making music to be a Christian rapper,
and he's not making music to be a rapper.
He's just kind of making music to put out there.
So anybody that likes it regardless of why
they're listening to it will listen to it.
- Well, recently, NF has said, "I've been doing this
for a long time, so it's nice to know that some of this hard work
has paid off. Honestly, it's moving me to keep working,
keep working hard, and keep moving." So after listening to some
of his music today and learning more about him,
what do you think the future holds for NF?
- I think that there are big things in store for him.
He's just doing what he likes and making good quality music,
not worrying about what everyone thinks about it.
And I think that anytime someone just does what they want
and doesn't really cater to what the world needs,
I think that he's gonna do great.
- He definitely has a message, and he definitely has an audience,
which is fantastic. I think if he continues
going the way he's going, sure, he's gonna continue
to see success. - He's not just some
run of the mill artist. He has a uniqueness to himself
and it's something that a lot of people
need to be exposed to. - I'm super excited
that he's on the show, because I want nothing more
than everybody to listen to him and get exposed to that.
And I would love for him to blow up.
I think he's really good, and he deserves it.
- Thanks for watching another episode
of College Kids React. - If you wanna see more,
then subscribe and hit the bell like Joni Linder and Cameron S.
- Have another favorite artist you want us to react to?
Let us know in the comments. - Hi, guys. JC here,
producer at FBE. Thanks so much for watching
this episode of College Kids React. Do you wanna know how
we put all these shows together? Make sure to follow us
on all our social media. The links are down
in the description below. Bye, guys.