NF - PAID MY DUES

NF claps back against his haters on "Paid My Dues."

Michigan-based rapper NF has been having the biggest year of his career. NF dropped his most recent full-length The Search back in July, to rave reviews. It's been NF's biggest success so far, debuting in the Billboard 200. Not too bad for a sensitive Christian rapper.

Of course, NF's success has brought critics rolling out of the woodworks like so many carpenter ants. All of a sudden, people were lining up to tear NF down. Ever the sensitive sort, it seems these criticisms legitimately got to NF, as he comments on in his newest surprise single "Paid My Dues."

NF - PAID MY DUES

The spitfire lyrics address those who seem to think NF's some sort of overnight success. They're clearly not doing their homework, as the Michigan rapper's been grinding and toiling away for years. Which is immediately obvious when you listen to "Paid My Dues."

"Paid My Dues" comes off like an old-school Eminem diss track. It starts off with NF speak-rapping in response to his critics, a la Eminem's "Stan." The floodgates open up and NF tears into his detractors with vitriolic applomb. Don't mess with someone with a razor-sharp tongue and a million-dollar vocabulary.

"Paid My Dues" is a bit edgier than much of the rapper’s often sensitive, introspective lyrics. It's nice to see him show his claws!

The sweet goes down better when there's a little bit of bitter. We Are: The Guard say that NF's hitting that sweet spot!

J. Simpson occupies the intersection between criticism, creativity, and academia. Based out of Portland, Or., he is the author of Forestpunk, an online journal/brand studying the traces of horror, supernatural, and the occult through music, fashion and culture. He plays in the dreamfolk band Meta-Pinnacle with his partner Lily H. Valentine, with whom he also co-founded Bitstar Productions, a visual arts collective focused on elevating Pop Culture to High Art.