With CLOUDS, NF outlines his reasons for releasing this mixtape now. “Hanging onto songs this long is daunting,” he raps, matter-of-factly. He then playfully delivers clever lines in unison with a sparse violin melody before his delivery becomes more fiery, matching a thundering, industrial beat. Throughout, the technically gifted MC passionately strings together intricate rhymes about his continued ascent and the gravity of his ambitions: “It’s probable / That I might press the envelope / Ideas so astronomical / Sometimes I find them comical.”
“CLOUDS” follows NF’s last surprise single, October 2020’s “CHASING_(DEMO),” which featured 15-year-old Australian fan Mikayla Sippel. A gripping ballad about breaking down and wanting to escape the world, “CHASING_(DEMO)” arrived just as calls for new music from NF’s fervent fanbase were becoming deafening. Ever since his Billboard-topping fourth album, 2019’s The Search, fans have eagerly awaited more of his emotive and brutally honest songwriting, grand production, and sharp delivery. This new single suggests that CLOUDS (THE MIXTAPE) will be well worth the wait. NF will have collaborations with HOPSIN and TECH N9NE on CLOUDS (THE MIXTAPE).