When NF drops a song that has such an honest title, such as this one “Paid My Dues”, we know it’s going to be an incredible track, and he certainly doesn’t disappoint. Released a week ago, NF’s new single continues on from where the awesome album, The Search, left off.
NF, real name Nathan Feuerstein, has been in the music industry for years, but he hit charts around the world in 2017 when “Let You Down” brought him the attention he so clearly deserves. It’s that song that made people tune into his music and allowed his album Perception to chart globally too. This year saw him release his fourth studio album, The Search, which gained incredible success – a second number one on the US Billboard Albums Chart, and hitting the Top 10 in 12 countries (including number seven on the UK Albums Chart, making this album NF’s first to chart in the UK). The title song from the album, “The Search”, also charted all around the world, so it wasn’t a surprise to see the album do so well. “When I Grow Up” followed suit and charted just as well as “The Search”, and “Time” went viral, becoming his biggest hit from the album. As with previous years, the track NF releases after an album release usually becomes a non-album single – although there are exceptions – and “Paid My Dues” is set to follow suit.
According to Spotify, this track has been written by Cole Walowac, Nate Feuerstein, and Tommee Profitt, whilst it was co-produced by the latter two songwriters alongside Saint X. As for the music video, that has been directed by Patrick Tohill & Nathan Feuerstein – according to the YouTube description. The music video references his past songs, eras, albums, negativity from critics as well as himself, and his past music videos – there’s a lot going on!
Watch NF’s Music Video For “Paid My Dues” Here:
It feels like it belonged on The Search album, “Paid My Dues” delves in deep, much like NF’s various other songs, only this one has unexpected twists and turns, especially when he spits bars at a lightning speed compared to the rest of the songs, and we absolutely love it. The lyrics themselves focus on the negative articles that he received about his US number one album The Search, before launching into his internal battles which we all know about due to his previous songs. He’s such an incredible artist, taking his own internal thoughts and feelings and turning them out into incredible songs that everyone can relate to in one shape or form, to the extent where we see him as completely real, honest, and integral to the music industry.
Coinciding with subtle themes throughout, the music video is the perfect accompaniment to the song. First off, we see a bunch of different NFs throughout the clip, they represent his different eras within music which also adds to his overthinking and his internal thoughts, especially since he is considered a perfectionist and so he’ll always find faults with previous music – which we totally understand as we all do the same. It all takes place in one building, although we see him in various settings, from a bathroom where he throws his latest album into the toilet only for a previous Nate to lift it out, to a locker room; there is also a swing and a gym. His themes from the various eras follow him into this visual such as the balloons and his dress sense. This not only shows his progression as an artist but also his development and connection to his previous selves; he is still the same Nate Feuerstein but it’s the past that makes us into who we are today. The ending sees NF drawing his iconic black smile underneath the word “Lost” – this could just be what he feels right now, or it could be an easter egg – as we’ve seen in his previous music videos – suggesting the title of a new single, new album, new theme, or something else entirely; we’ll just have to wait and see.
“Paid My Dues” is available to download and stream now, via NF Real Music.