Nathan John Feuerstein (/ˈfɔɪ.ərstaɪn/; born March 30, 1991), known professionally as NF (stylized as ИF), is an American rapper, singer and songwriter. He released an EP in 2014 with Capitol CMG, NF, which was his breakthrough release on the Billboard charts. He has released three studio albums: Mansion in 2015, Therapy Session in 2016 and Perception in 2017, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 charts. Perception's third single, "Let You Down", brought him worldwide fame; it charted internationally and was certified triple platinum in the United States. 　　Early life 　　NF was born Nathan John Feuerstein, in Gladwin, Michigan on March 30, 1991. His parents divorced, and he was raised by his mother until his father had to take him away when her boyfriend abused him. His mother overdosed in 2009 which led to him dedicating the song "How Could You Leave Us" to her. He graduated from Gladwin High School in 2009, and was on the basketball team. NF started his career at the Fine Arts Festival organized by Connection Church in Canton, Michigan. 　　Career 　　Feuerstein stated that, during his childhood, rap was an escape for him. He would record songs on a karaoke machine, recording the instrumentals on one microphone and his raps on the other. On November 29, 2010, Feuerstein independently-released his debut studio album Moments under his real name. On August 2, 2011, he released his debut single "Alone". The song featured songwriter and producer Tommee Profitt and Brooke Griffith. In 2012, Feuerstein's work attracted the attention of Xist Music. On May 2, 2012, he released his debut extended play I'm Free with production work from Proffit. The tracklist consisted of nine songs including "Alone". The EP also included an exclusive version of "Alone" featuring Sean Simmonds. Xist teased for the release of the self-titled extended play, NF, but Feuerstein parted ways with the label after a dispute and the production of NF was postponed. Despite this, NF featured a song "Only One", featuring Shuree Williams, in the label's compilation album, Move Vol 1. He released a single, "Beautiful Addiction", on November 4, 2013. The song again featured an appearance from Profitt, as well as vocals from Brady Schmitz and Danielle Swift. 　　Feuerstein signed to Capitol Christian Music Group in 2014, before the release of the EP, NF This project was his breakthrough release on the Billboard, as it charted on the Christian Albums chart at No. 12, on the Top Gospel Albums at No. 4, and on the Top Rap Albums at No. 15. This extended play was reviewed by Jesus Freak Hideout and New Release Tuesday, receiving two three-and-a-half-star reviews. CCM Magazine reviewed the EP and awarded it four stars. His first studio album, Mansion, was released on March 31, 2015 by Capitol CMG. 　　His song "Intro" is included in the video game Madden NFL 16. NF's songs have been played on ESPN, VH1, Showtime, NBC's Chicago P.D., Grimm, Shades of Blue and in the season finale trailer of Fox's Empire. His music video for "Intro" premiered on MTV.com's homepage, and the video has also appeared on MTVU, AbsolutePunk, 2DOPEBOYZ, Raps & Hustles and The College Dropouts. 　　His second studio album, Therapy Session, was released on April 22, 2016. "I Just Wanna Know" was released as a single on April 8, 2016 and "Real" was released on April 22, 2016. "Warm Up" was released as a non-album single on September 8, 2016. 　　On October 6, 2017, NF released his third studio album, Perception. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, making it his first chart topping album and only the second artist in 2017 to release a number one album without having charted on the Hot 100. The next week, "Let You Down" became his first single to chart on the Hot 100, debuting at 87. It became a sleeper hit, taking 17 weeks to reach its peak at number 12. After the success of Perception he announced he would begin touring mid-2018 with rappers Logic and Kyle. It was certified platinum—selling over 1,000,000 units—by the RIAA on January 11, 2019. 　　In 2018, NF released two non-album singles, "No Name" on January 19 and "WHY" on June 18. 　　On May 30, 2019, Feuerstein released the single "The Search", along with a music video. He used the single to advertise for an album of the same name to be released on July 26, 2019.