Transcription
NF just released a song called "Fear". And if you know his work, you'll know how amazing he is at capturing the raw, messy complexity of emotion and our inner worlds. As a vocal coach, I want to explore how he finds such authenticity in this polished, cinematic sound, and how you can find a little bit of that yourself. Go to the gear to turn on captions in your language, let's dive in.
♪ Hello, darkness, my old friend, hello ♪
♪ Knocking at my door again ♪
♪ Begging me to come outside ♪
♪ Let you back into my life ♪
♪ Now usually I'd be strong enough ♪
♪ To lock the doors and keep 'em shut ♪
♪ But not today, I'm desperate ♪
♪ So go ahead and come on in ♪
Oh, it's like. ♪ So go ahead and come on in ♪ Got goose pimples. ♪ So go ahead and come on in ♪ Wow. Why does he still sound like this emotional haunting, goose bump-inducing hymn while he's singing rather than rapping? Every single human has a unique shaped vocal tract. So our voices are literally built to be unique, but it's more than that. He really understands his vocal identity and he knows how to express and communicate in a way that is truly him.
First of all, he has very, very clear diction, vital for rapping, but also very important for his style of singing. And each word is imbued with the emotion. So here it almost feels numb, and that's an emotion that we often forget to express in singing. Secondly, he keeps his rhythmic identity, even though he is singing. It's a little bit shorter and sharper than some singers might do it, but that's why he doesn't sound like a rapper who decided to sing. It kind of flows from his rapping voice into his singing voice.
♪ So go ahead and come on in ♪
♪ So go ahead and come on in ♪
Yeah.
♪ OCD is worse than ever, hands are bleeding ♪
♪ Maybe I should take the pills, don't, whoa ♪
His accent. ♪ Know what's going on with me ♪
♪ Some days I actuality think I might be schizophrenic, whoa ♪
♪ Probably not, but even writing this ♪
♪ Is making me begin to spiral, oh God ♪
♪ Oh, oh ♪
♪ Made a promise to myself I wouldn't let the fear back in ♪
♪ But then I did though, whoa ♪
♪ Told the world that I was sick of running ♪
♪ Then went back to running, what a joke, whoa ♪
♪ Disappointed, yeah, me too ♪
♪ I thought I finally had finally made a breakthrough ♪
♪ Guess not, oh, oh ♪
He has this amazing way of treating voice and his whole vocal landscape and visual landscape like a movie. It's as if the story is the main character and his voice is the camera.
♪ Guess not, oh, oh ♪
♪ It's the same song and dance ♪
♪ You've all seen it before ♪
♪ Darkness holds out his hand, then we walk to the floor ♪
♪ Every decision made isn't mine antymore ♪
♪ Like a puppet with strings, I just don't have a choice ♪
♪ What's the truth, what's a lie ♪
♪ Help me God ♪
♪ Help me Lord ♪
That one is like in his ♪ Face your your fears ♪ spine. ♪ Dry your eyes ♪ ♪ Grandma died, what's the point ♪ ♪ Lost the keys, lost my hope, lost my will, lost my joy ♪ ♪ Lost a friend, lost my home, lost my faith, lost my voice ♪ Oh. Ooh. Oh, God. ♪ Desperate, standing ♪ It, ah, he just takes you on this journey. He does not build in the normal way. It isn't verse, pre chorus, chorus. No, he is building in a psychological arc. It's this constant push and pull and it cycles round. It is like a psychological spiral and it is incredible. It moves in the way that anxiety and fear and hope and longing and all the complexity of emotion moves. And then if we zoom out, he has this repeated chord structure that goes on throughout that again, feels like the spirals, but then we zoom out further and he has this cinematic journey from the introduction of the character, that inner monologue out into this massive, thrilling, cinematic film score moment. It feels like we're in "Inception" or something like that.
If you have any other NF songs that you think I should check out, please let me know down in the comments, 'cause this ♪ Desperate, standing back ♪ ♪ Watching my mansion ♪ ♪ Burn to ash ♪ ♪ While I ♪ ♪ Hold the gas can ♪ ♪ Asking God ♪ ♪ If he started this fire ♪ See how it's chopped up? ♪ Is this what you wanted ♪ ♪ Is this what you wanted ♪ ♪ Make all my hopes and my dreams come to life ♪ ♪ Just to lay them to rest ♪ I love the repetition and the solidness of ♪ Is this what you wanted ♪ It's very flat and it's repeated. ♪ Is this what you wanted ♪ ♪ Lifes and dreams ♪ That has that little scoop on it. That emotion is starting to come through. ♪ And dreams come to life just to lay them to rest ♪ He's painting with words and using the feeling of the emotion to decide what colors that he uses.
How does he know what techniques are right for him and not for other people? I've just built a course on this, on how to find your true voice, and it walks you through step by step. So I'll put a link down in the description.
♪ Lay them to rest ♪
♪ Is this what you wanted ♪
And the visuals as well. ♪ Is this what you wanted ♪
♪ Give me a false sense of peace ♪
♪ Just to show me what peace really is ♪
Like there. ♪ Peace ♪ He's really punching the p sound, because you know that he does not feel peaceful. ♪ Give me a false sense of peace ♪ ♪ Just to show me what peace really is ♪ Sometimes we think with word painting, we have to embody the meaning of the word. ♪ Word filled of peace ♪ But then it's important to understand the storytelling. He isn't a trying to tell us that it's peaceful, he's trying to tell us that it is not peaceful, so, ♪ Peace ♪ it sounds bitter and angry, and it is perfect for this.
♪ Give me a false sense of peace ♪
♪ Just to show me what peace really is ♪
Come on, it's like, uh.
♪ Is this what you wanted ♪
♪ On the verge, on the edge ♪
♪ Is this what you wanted ♪
♪ Petrified, scared to death ♪
♪ Is this what you wanted ♪
♪ Praying to God, desperate ♪
♪ Is this what you wanted ♪
♪ What you wanted ♪
♪ Is this what you wanted ♪
♪ Hanging on by a thread ♪
♪ Is this what you wanted ♪
♪ Empty heart, nothing left ♪
♪ Is this what you wanted ♪
♪ Breaking down, spiraling ♪
♪ Is this what you wanted ♪
♪ What you wanted ♪
♪ Is this what you wanted ♪
♪ Standing back ♪
♪ Is this what you wanted ♪
♪ Watching my mansion ♪
♪ Is this what you wanted ♪
♪ Burn to ash ♪
♪ Is this what you wanted ♪
♪ What you wanted ♪
♪ Is this what you wanted ♪
♪ Hold the gas can ♪
♪ Is this what you wanted ♪
♪ Asking God ♪
♪ Is this what you wanted ♪
♪ If he started this fire ♪
♪ Is this what you wanted ♪
♪ What you wanted ♪
Ooh. Oh, his music just connects with your soul. He just commits to his own truth, his own story, his emotion. And that's what finding your voice is. It's not forcing a style, trying to be like anyone else. It is finding out what is naturally yours and allowing it. If you like this, then I have some other analysis here. Thank you for watching, and I will see you in the next one. Bye. Rawr.