Hip-Hop artist NF is not afraid to be honest and authentic with his music. It is this quality along with his amazing skills as a rapper that has made him the hottest up and comer in Christian music. BreatheCast had the opportunity to chat with the "Wake Up" rapper about music's power, being "Christian enough," and being a "white rapper."

When asked about his peers in rap, and how he differentiates, NF took the modest approach and forsook comparisons.

"I don't compare myself to other rappers...I'm trying to be a different artist in general. I sing and I rap and I think my music has a different sound to it," he explained. "It'll develop more and more but I think it's just very raw and kind of has a darker feel to it. I guess that could be the only thing that maybe some rappers tend to stay away from. I rap about what I feel and what place I'm in. Some people won't like it because they like positive happy music. I'm not saying I'm an emo rapper, but maybe some people would define it like that because I've been through some things. I've had problems in my life, I still have problems in my life. That's what's always motivated me."

(Photo : Facebook: NF)

NF then spoke about being a white rapper. In the past, it was something that was looked down upon. Until the last few years the only white rapper with any real lasting success was Eminem. Now, there is Macklemore, Mac Miller, MGK, Action Bronson, and a slew of other underground and indie artists, not to mention Christian rapper Andy Mineo.

"Hip-hop is so different now. When Eminem came out, it was like 'Oh my gosh there's a white guy that can actually rap'. Hip-hop is in a whole different realm," he said, "You don't have to be a thug if you are good at rapping. I don't feel that way at all because there's so many white rappers that are amazing artists. I used to think like that years ago, "Oh man, I think I'm pretty good for being white." But now there's so many guys...there's a lot of white rappers out and there's a lot that people don't even know about that are legit. Andy is a great artist too."

He feels hip-hop is also getting to the point where labels will not matter anymore, and Christian rap will be thrown in the pool of rap. He likes artists such as Lecrae for making the jump, and putting out quality hip-hop with a message that is still legitimate.

"I remember when Lecrae was getting crap because they were saying we don't like to be defined as Christian rappers. They weren't saying they were ashamed, obviously Lecrae is unashamed," he stated, "I think it's just the whole idea, when you go to your friend and say 'Hey check out this Christian rapper.' They automatically have a negative outlook on it. You know how people are, if you say that to them rather than show it to them. The cool thing in my mind is I think you can play a Lecrae record next to a lot of artists. He stands out and his music's great and it's not so different where people are like 'Woah, that's a Christian rapper.'

He continued, "It's legit, it's good. I don't know, it's definitely come a long way. I've been listening to hip-hop for so long back when there was Gospel Gansterz, Grits, T-Bone, and all those people."

While listening to NF's music, there is no doubt that what is coming from his mouth is God inspired hip-hop. He just does it differently. He hits deep with emotion and a quest to grow closer to God except he does it without preaching. His music is not filled with scripture, blatant cries out to God, and a pleading to be saved. However, what his short sample of music portrays is a man just like everyone else, who is "a Christian, but I'm not perfect" as he says. Some people may look at this as him not being "Christian enough," but most would agree it makes his message relatable to the non-believer as well, who in turn may investigate to what he raps about further.

"I guess, when I do music, I try to talk a lot about how I'm feeling, especially the EP, just being open and honest. I'm struggling with a lot of things right now, and you can hear that. It's not that I'm not a Christian or I don't believe in God, it's just I'm in a transition, a mode in my life where I'm trying to get things together. If someone wants to give me grief about it. it doesn't really matter to me," he said, "Everyone goes through stuff in their life, and if someone doesn't like that I don't say God every other word, maybe it's not for them. I think no matter what I do, people are going to find something to say."

(Photo : Press Release)

With that being said, NF knows the power music has to reach people, and the importance and presenting something life changing in his words, "I think [music is] huge for whatever you're trying to do. Preach to people, reach people about a certain subject. I know for me personally, it's one of the biggest most powerful things that affected me in my life."

"I don't know how you would express it except, growing up no matter how I was feeling I could get into this head space. Me being in the studio all day doing a new song and putting all my emotion into a song is one of the most passionate things to me that I have ever done and I really enjoyed doing it because I'm still that way listening to music," he said, "I listen to the same records over and over just because I relate to them more. I really enjoy it. Music is one of the most powerful things ever created in my opinion."

Speaking to NF reveals two things - his love and passion for creating sincere emotive music, and a mission to reach people with uplifting stories of hope and perseverance. As he presses on to create his full length album, hopefully he will continue to inspire and get better with each release. If the first EP is an indication of what is to come, NF is certainly headed in the right direction.

Read part one of the BC interview with NF, and be sure to read the review on his EP here.