NF is back in the ring. After the chart-dominating success of 2023’s Hope, the Michigan rapper returns today with Fear, a six-song EP that digs further into the psychic terrain he has been mapping for nearly a decade. The project arrives via NF Real Music and Capitol Music Group and immediately repositions him for another era of introspective, big-screen emotional intensity.
Fear pulls no punches out of the gate. The title track and closer Washed Up both received official videos today, continuing NF’s long-running fusion of cinematic world-building and autobiographical storytelling. The visuals connect directly to the dense lore that fans obsess over, with recurring motifs and callbacks that signal a deliberate step deeper into the universe he has built since his breakout in the mid-2010s.
Those callbacks extend to the EP’s cover, which depicts a stately mansion engulfed in flames. The image is an intentional echo of his 2015 album Mansion and has already sparked theories about whether Fear represents a confrontation with the emotional spaces he once locked away. The teasers leading up to release amassed more than 22 million views, proving his core audience remains one of the most engaged in contemporary hip hop.
Musically, Fear finds NF widening his circle without losing the internal focus that defines his work. Sorry features a guest turn from British pop powerhouse James Arthur, who brings a bruised melodic counterpoint to NF’s trademark tension. Who I Was pairs him with mgk for a collision of two artists who have built massive followings by refusing to fit clean genre lines. Rounding out the track list are Home, Give Me A Reason and the intense closer Washed Up.
Fear lands as NF’s first batch of new music since Hope, which topped Billboard’s Top Album Sales, Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and Top Rap Albums charts and debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. That record reaffirmed NF’s place as a singular voice in the mainstream. Clash Music praised Hope as a thrilling return, while NME highlighted the song Happy as a moment of brutal honesty in his ongoing mental health journey. Both the title track and Happy have since gone Gold.
The success of Hope carried into a massive world tour across 2023 and 2024, with NF selling out arenas globally while remaining largely absent from traditional press cycles. His refusal to play the social media game has become a core part of the mystique. Despite the quiet exterior, he remains one of the most consumed artists on the planet with more than 55 billion global streams, 62 RIAA certifications and over 1.25 million tickets sold. Billboard has dubbed him one of the world’s biggest rappers, while Forbes noted that his ascent is proof of what can be built outside the conventional industry playbook.
Fear is a continuation of that ethos. It is NF doing what he does best. He confronts the inner storms directly, turns those storms into massive hooks and presents the whole thing with the theatrical gravity of a blockbuster. The EP is out now on all platforms, with vinyl and limited signed CDs available through his online store. Listen to Fear here.
FEAR – Track Listing
1. FEAR
2. HOME
3. WHO I WAS with mgk
4. GIVE ME A REASON
5. SORRY with James Arthur
6. WASHED UP
