Music Analysis #3 - TRUST

 "TRUST" by NF (ft. TechN9ne)

 Clouds album cover

Introduction:

 For my continued explorations blog post, I will be going back and doing one more musical analysis (similar to that of my "Freudian" analysis). "TRUST" by NF (ft. TechN9ne) is a song that was just recently released on March 26, 2021 in NF's new album "Clouds (THE MIXTAPE)". When I work out, I like to listen to rap music, because it's usually the only genre of music that gets me motivated enough to work harder. There's a lot of background orchestras and choirs in NF's raps, which is something you don't see at all on that side of the music industry, so it definitely sets him apart from the rest. His songs aren't usually this fast, so it caught me off guard when he started going really fast. His flow is incredible. Something else I find interesting about this song is that he got the TechN9ne to collaborate with him. For those of you who don't know what I am talking about, TechN9ne is an older rapper that swears A LOT in his music. So, for him to do a clean song with NF (who doesn't swear), is very surprising to me. I don't like listening to a bunch of swears when I'm working out, so this song is amazing for me.

Links to music:

Here's a link to TRUST:

Here's the link to that video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBPUfsozvoA

Lyrics:

Here's a link to the lyrics: https://www.waytolyrics.com/2021/03/nf-trust.html

Although there isn't a article relating to this particular song yet, there are a lot of hidden messages in his lyrics that he adds into every song (especially this one). Like a lot of rappers, NF had an incredibly rough childhood growing up. According to umusic.ca, NF grew up living with his father, because his mother's boyfriend would constantly physically abuse him. His mother ended up dying when he was still in high school due to a drug overdose (umusic.ca). He's become successful, but at what cost? His lyrics are about his life experiences, which is why he raps with such passion and intensity. It's amazing how far some people come starting with so little.

Meter:

When listening to this song, I noticed it was in a very fast 4/4 time. This makes sense, because when rapping fast you need a steady meter and tempo. I find this very impressive, because not only are the lyrics borderline tongue twisters, but they are keeping with the beat the entire time, only slowing down during the the part where NF says, "look what I look what I done, helpin' the people I love (I love)." The fast 4/4 beat is what helps motivate me to workout faster and harder. 

Dynamics:

The dynamics of this song are what make NF's music interesting. He likes to bring in orchestras and choirs and make these amazing backgrounds in his music. In the beginning, NF starts out intense, but stays at that intensity until he gets to the part where he says, "look what I look what done, helpin' the people I love (I love)." In this part he goes to almost a yell and his intensity gets higher and higher until he passes the mic off to TechN9ne. At the end of TechN9ne's verses, he becomes more intense and the background choir and beat starts to crescendo with him until he passes the mic back to NF for the final verse.

Rhythm:

NF uses the same flow for most of the song, only slowing down his rapping during the choruses or just before he's about to hand off the mic to TechN9ne. The steady beat and occasional hemiolas over the 4/4 meter keeps this song going.

Conclusion:

I have to admit, I'm a pretty big NF fan. I don't enjoy all of his music, but this song is ridiculously fast and sounds really cool with its modern and classical mix of electronic beats and violins/choirs. He is very talented and his lyrics come from the heart. It's only about 4.5 minutes, so whenever you have the time, I highly recommend giving this a listen. It's well worth it.

Sources:

Lyrics, Way To. “NF - TRUST LYRICS.” Way To Lyrics, Blogger, 3 Apr. 2021, www.waytolyrics.com/2021/03/nf-trust.html

NFVEVO. “NF - TRUST (Audio) Ft. Tech N9ne.” YouTube, uploaded by NF, 26 Mar. 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBPUfsozvoA.

“Behind The Lyrics: ‘Let You Down’ By NF.” Umusic, 16 Feb. 2018, http://www.umusic.ca/2017/11/04/nf-lyrics/

Boice, Edward. “NF 'Clouds (the Mixtape)' Features Tech9 & Hopsin; What Does That Mean for the Normally Solo Rapper?” Rapzilla, 19 Feb. 2021, https://rapzilla.com/2021-02-nf-mixtape-mean-change-direction/