Why can't I get this kid out of my head?

The image for this article is a screenshot from my "Live Nation" app. This concert was unfortunately cancelled due to the artist being ill. Not in the Beastie Boys sense of the word "ill", but actually sick. He performed to a sold out crowd the night before at the House of Blues in Chicago. It was going to be a fun night out on V-Day for the wife and I in one of our favorite cities. Wasn't meant to be. At least not on that day.

So why am I telling you this? It's probably because my wife and I were SO excited to see this guy perform. We have been listening to his music and reading his lyrics (like an autobiographical novel) for months now. He is INTENSE!!! So gifted in his writing, rapping and FLOW (as the kids call it). He's been compared to Eminem, Logic, Machine Gun Kelly, etc. Many of his fans will tell you there is no comparison. That he's the only NF. It's so true. This kid is legit. Take a listen.

His latest album, "Perception" debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. But all of the fame and hoopla that comes with success is NOT going to change this young man. I know this because in his songs he will tell you where his loyalty lies.

******SPOILER ALERT.

NF or Nathan John Feuerstein is a 26 year old from Gladwin, MI. His music comes from a dark place. A mother who overdosed on pills. Physical abuse suffered at the hands of a stepfather. How does he choose to rise above the early childhood trauma and oppression? By focusing on life with an Eternal Perspective. NF is a Christian hip-hop artist and he is proud of it. His lyrics wreak of faithful devotion and focus. When asked about being a Christian artist he responds as only NF would....

"If you're a Christian and a plumber, are you a Christian Plumber?" As if to say labels are for people of this world, not for the person he chooses to follow or promote in his music. And hear me now, this is some INCREDIBLE music! My wife and I aren't really hip-hop listeners. Top 40 radio or Apple Music Pop hip-hop maybe. Not super into hardcore rap. We are into it now! At least in our devotion to this kid and what he is promoting in his songs.

We have three kids ages 20, 15 and 11. Two oldest are boys and the youngest a girl. We can listen to this music with them. The words inspire. They show perseverance and struggle, toughness and vulnerability. All things we want our kids to know and practice.

In closing, maybe this concert on February 14, 2018 was cancelled so we can go as a family to watch this wordsmith slay at a summer concert somewhere? Who knows? What I do know is this is only just the beginning for Nate "NF" Feuerstein.