NF's "CLOUDS (the mixtape)" doesn't miss a beat

Not even a week since the drop of NF's mixtape CLOUDS (the mixtape), and every single song on it has over a million streams on Spotify. The lowest stream count is somewhere around 1.8 million at time of writing, so it's highly likely that every song will hit two million streams before a week has passed. And CLOUDS (the mixtape) deserves that success. NF has never wanted to release a mixtape instead of his usual conceptual albums, but found himself sitting on a number of songs he just wanted to put into the world. He made that "ballsy" call to drop a mixtape instead of his traditional full-lengths because he knew he was likely going to be unable to tour it and build a world within the album and the liveshow. And all of that comes through right away in the first verse of the first song on the mixtape, "CLOUDS:"

"Mixtapes aren't my thing, but it's been awfully exhausting Hanging on to songs this long is daunting (Yeah) Which caused me to have to make a call I thought was ballsy"

While mixtape's might not be NF's thing, he really hits a home run with this one, proving exactly how good of a songwriter and artist he really is. The sound throughout is so big, almost cinematic. "CLOUDS" is a perfect example of that sound, from the build-up starting in the first verse carries into a fake out at the end of verse three, only to build back up into an even larger sound until it finally explodes with the seventh and last verse.

The songs on the mixtape vary in the stories they tell. Some, like "CLOUDS," "THAT'S A JOKE" and "PAID MY DUES" are targeted at NF's critics and haters. He often feels that he doesn't fit the traditional rapper mold, that he doesn't always belong in that scene and people tear him down for it. But that doesn't make his music any less incredible.

Other songs, like "JUST LIKE YOU" and "DRIFTING" focus on mental health issues. "JUST LIKE YOU" is written as a reminder -- to who is unclear, perhaps himself, his unborn child or his fans -- that even when you're at your lowest, things get better and you're never alone. The lyrics in the chorus are a stark contrast to the raps in the verses, really slowly it down in a melodic way to really drive it home: "I want you to know when you're alone and you feel afraid / You're not the only person in the world that isn't okay / There's millions of us just like you."

But NF also used this opportunity to prove exactly what he's capable of as a songwriter, using track four, "STORY," to do so. The song paints a story in a truly remarkable and vivid way. It follows a woman named Erin who stops at the gas station to get gas after leaving her house early in the morning, then realizes she needs cigarettes, goes inside, thinks she should get something to eat and drink too. As she turns around to head to the register, she hears "Hey open up the drawer" and ducks to hide as the gas station is robbed by a man who's revealed to be working with her roommate's boyfriend. It's dramatic, cinematic and incredibly vivid. The lyrics and the larger-than-life instrumentations intertwine perfectly together to tell this story. The use of sound effects, like the car engine starting, Erin's heartbeat, the can rolling on the floor, the feet hitting the ground, and the grunts as the robber struggles against Erin really help build the atmosphere and takes it from just a retelling of a story, to pretty much feeling like you're genuinely there. And when you pair it with the music video, it feels authentic, it feels real. It's a level of storytelling in songwriting that is extremely rarely heard and done to this degree.

That's what this mixtape does as a whole. It reiterates that NF is a force to be reckoned with as a songwriter and an artist. He pours his heart into these songs, and you can hear it in his vocals. From the cinematic sound to the complex but very real and raw lyrics, he has earned any and all success that stems from this mixtape, despite what the critics and haters might say. Even if a mixtape like this is out of NF's normal release, he never misses a beat, never slows down, not even for a second. Every song is packed full of incredible, larger-than-life instrumentation and fast-paced deep lyrics.

CLOUDS (the mixtape) is meant to satisfy people's desire for new music and keep them interested and on their toes for NF's next album, even if that might still be a ways away. And it has done exactly that.