On NF - EP, Michigan rapper NF seems awed by his own journey. On “All I Have,” moody atmospherics and NF’s aggressive flow belie lyrics that pledge his dedication to the mic and to God. He rhymes with an urgency that conveys how personal his message is and how much he wants it to reach his fans. Over the sinister orchestral loop and buzzing low end of “Just Being Me,” he announces: “I rap cause there's millions of people just like me.”

A Michigan-born rapper with lightening-quick delivery and a troubled past might call to mind a certain rap vet, but the Eminem comparisons end there. NF's debut is a darkly contemplative, ultimately hopeful account of the MC’s personal struggles and Christian faith. He pulls double duty singing and rapping on “Wait,” a mournful, piano-driven love song, and experiments with EDM-inspired beats on high-drama accountability anthem “Face It.” The eerie, pounding title track takes a conceptual tour through the mansion of his mind, each room housing a life-altering trial he’s striving to overcome.

On his second LP, the gospel-inspired rapper talks about coping with fame. After his debut album, Mansion, reached the top 10 of Billboard’s US rap chart in 2015, Michigan rapper NF (born Nate Feuerstein) felt intense pressure to keep his stride. He opens Therapy Session with an earnest question: "I’m back, did anyone miss me? They said the second record could be tricky.” Feuerstein is known for his raw honesty and powerful pacing, and uses this album to weigh the dark sides of celebrity (including gruesome death threats) against his gratitude. “I get emotional, I didn’t plan this,” he confesses on “Intro 2." “I’m doing things I never imagined.”

“CLOUDS (THE MIXTAPE) is a short project I wanted to put out while I work on my next full-length album. It’s really just something for the fans to have while they wait.” —NF