Clouds
by NF

Album: CLOUDS (THE MIXTAPE) (2021)
Charted: 56 53
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • NF released his first mixtape, CLOUDS (THE MIXTAPE), on March 26, 2021. During its ominous, chest-beating title track, he explains why he crafted a mixtape rather than his usual albums and EPs.

    Mixtapes aren't my thing, but it's been awfully exhausting
    Hanging onto songs this long is daunting


    Because he could not tour due to the COVID pandemic, he'd been holding on to his songs. "I like to build shows with stuff from the covers, stuff from the videos," he said, "I like making it all one thing."

    The Michigan rapper added that as he can't hold on to his unreleased tracks any longer, he decided to give his fans a mixtape.
  • As the track progresses, NF becomes more fiery, delivering braggadocio rhymes about his continued ascent.

    Beat all the odds, I ain't got no limits
    Cannot be stopped, you payin' attention?


    Flexing the gravity of his ambitions contrasts with some of NF's previous material, such as "Leave Me Alone," where he talks of being tormented by his success. Now that his mental well-being has improved he's planning on setting up camp on top of the charts.
  • The song title comes from a line in the first verse when NF references his meteoric rise:

    Come out the clouds like a meteor rock
    Then land on the earth like "Ready or not?"


    When NF's third studio album, Perception, debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200, he seemed to have come out of nowhere. As a Christian MC who keeps his rhymes clean, many believed NF's tracks had a limited market, but he proved them wrong.
  • NF introduces the song with what sounds like gibberish. It is, in fact, the phrase "head's in the clouds" played pitched down in reverse.
  • NF created the thundering, industrial beat along with his primary producer, Tommee Profitt.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Adam Young of Owl City

Adam Young of Owl CitySongwriter Interviews

Is Owl City on a quest for another hit like "Fireflies?" Adam answers that question and explains the influences behind many others.

Kim Thayil of Soundgarden

Kim Thayil of SoundgardenSongwriter Interviews

Their frontman (Chris Cornell) started out as their drummer, so Soundgarden takes a linear approach when it comes to songwriting. Kim explains how they do it.

Female Singers Of The 90s

Female Singers Of The 90sMusic Quiz

The ladies who ruled the '90s in this quiz.

P.F. Sloan

P.F. SloanSongwriter Interviews

P.F. was a teenager writing hits and playing on tracks for Jan & Dean when he wrote a #1 hit that got him blackballed.

Randy Newman

Randy NewmanSongwriting Legends

Newman makes it look easy these days, but in this 1974 interview, he reveals the paranoia and pressures that made him yearn for his old 9-5 job.

Ramones

RamonesFact or Fiction

A band so baffling, even their names were contrived. Check your score in the Ramones version of Fact or Fiction.