“Lost” by NF (ft. Hopsin)

To begin with, NF is more of a spiritually-minded rapper. What that means in practical terms is that when he drops songs there tends to be an honest, introspective, non-material aspect to them. And concerning his personal life, it can be said that he likes the same things that we all do. But he is also cognizant of his personal “flaws” and is not the type to just give in to his urges like that.

You can view the lyrics, alternate interprations and sheet music for NF's Lost at Lyrics.org.

For instance, NF may enjoy being prideful and has his own reasons for conducting himself in such a manner. But at the same time he notices when he lets his defenses down, he tends to be a more joyful person. And he recognizes many other individuals behaving the same, i.e. sabotaging their personal happiness the same way he does. 

In fact many of us are so defensive that we “scare away the things that we should cherish”. And to NF that’s what it means to be “lost” – being so caught up in ourselves so to speak, putting on a façade because we’re actually afraid. And we can’t overcome this fear because “we’re too embarrassed” to even admit we’re so in the first place. Or, that’s at least one aspect of understanding the titular term. 

So as you can see, that’s some deep psychological, semi-religious stuff already, and we’re not even halfway through the first verse yet. 

Second Half

But the second half is largely based on the idea of NF being an individual who always strives for greatness. Yes it could be so materially, such as the vocalist opting to ‘own what he values’ as opposed to ‘renting’. But it is also once again on an internal level. Or stated differently, he is more concerned with overcoming his aforementioned flaws and being a better person on the inside than he is with his material standing.

And he understands that doing so is not an easy task.  He is knowledgeable of such because, based on the pre-chorus for example, he has already tried and failed so many times.  But NF has come to realize that those experiences were all a part of growing up.  Or stated differently, you learn lessons from your mistakes.  And one of them would be to try to make the best of bad situations.  But more important than anything else is not to give up.  You have to “learn to pick yourself back up again” despite failures.  This entails shutting off the negative thoughts in your mind that tell you will never overcome the given challenge.

And along the way, throughout the first verse, pre-chorus and chorus, NF adopts sort of a Christian perspective without actually alluding to religion, i.e. that “it’s okay to make mistakes”. But at the same time he also knows that it would be more ideal if he were able to overcome his flaws altogether, i.e. take the “high road”. 

But he tends to forsake the virtuous path when he’s “lost”, i.e. caught in his flaws, which at this time we can safely equate with sins, i.e. moral shortcomings.

Hopsin steps in

And it is Hopsin who is first to actually verify the religious leanings of this song but using such terminology. He is engaged in hypnotherapy and other forms of discipline in an attempt to ‘wash away his sins’. 

He alludes to the idea that such actions are caused by external circumstances. For instance, he finds himself surrounded by individuals who would rather see him fail than succeed. And generally speaking, he doesn’t have “trust for no one”. 

So the rapper comes off as if the stresses of life sometimes lead to him behaving in such a manner that he knows isn’t necessarily right.

He then goes on a bit of tirade based on the age-old ‘money can’t buy you happiness’ adage. In fact the rapper himself was at a point “living… with millions” of dollars yet still was unable to achieve a stable family life for instance. And all of his misfortunes in life have fashioned him into the angry, shall we say countercultural figure he is today, which is a role he embraces. 

So his verse doesn’t have a moralistic slant as with NF’s. Rather it’s more autobiographical and braggadocious in approach.

Lost and in need of Assistance

Meanwhile the second pre-chorus, which NF and Hopsin share, features both rappers being “lost”. And they’re “praying to the Lord” for some type of divine intervention. Or put otherwise, they are addicted to certain types of destructive behaviors. 

In fact they are so “lost” in them that they’re not sure if they can actually overcome these maladies under their own strength.

Conclusion

So no, this is not a Christian song in the truest sense of the word. But it is based on what can be classified as ideas derived from Christianity. For instance, the vocalists are for the most part ashamed of their “sins” as opposed to embracing them (i.e. unlike many of their contemporaries). 

Also there is that notion of an individual being powerless against sin unless they receive help from above. And third and most importantly is that so long as they are in fact ‘sinners’, the vocalists are “lost” in terms of having any type of true direction in life.  

Lyrics of "Lost"

Facts about “Lost”

This track is from Clouds (The Mixtape), an NF solo project of 2021. “Lost” was issued on 11 March 2021, by NF Real Music and Caroline Records. It was the second single NF released in the year 2021. The first for the year in question was “Clouds“.

In terms of the writing and production, this song marks yet another collaboration between NF and Tommee Profitt, with Saint X performing both roles on the track also. And the other co-writer of the song is its feature, Hopsin.

Hopsin is a rapper from L.A. whose style is somewhat similar to that of NF’s. In fact the former expressed a desire to work with the latter as far back as 2018. 

NF then went on to tease the collaboration itself in July of 2020. And he first revealed the title, in a roundabout way, on the music video to his late-2019 track “Paid My Dues”.

The music video to this particular song was filmed in the mountains of Colorado.

Lost

NF is a rapper from Michigan. He is recognized by some as being a Christian rapper. And in that regard, he would perhaps be the top Christian artist in the industry concurrent with the release of this song. 

That is to say that his first two albums (released by a major label), Mansion (2015) and Therapy Session (2016), both topped Billboard’s Christian Albums chart. And his next two, Perception (2017) and The Search (2019), topped the Billboard 200 itself (though didn’t appear on the Christian chart).

Meanwhile Hopsin’s most-successful project to date would be 2015’s Pound Syndrome, his fourth full-length. It peaked at position 17 on the Billboard 200.

7 Responses

  1. Anonymous says:

    I agree that this song, like many of NF’s other songs, is inspired by his faith, but I need to say this. The Bible is very clear about manifestation being dark, dangerous, and sinful. I’m really uncomfortable with that line being said by both NF and Hopsin in the song. Whether he genuinely means he’s into manifestation, or dropped the line lightly, it communicates the wrong message about Christianity.

    • Anonymous says:

      I was skeptical about that part too! But if you search up the definition of manifest the verb means to be living proof of something. He’s basiclly saying that he is living proof or the epitome of learning from failure/falling and getting back up again.

    • Wair says:

      The Bible is very clear about manifestation being dark, dangerous, and sinful

      …. where

  2. NONAME says:

    Yeah bruh… I understand now…😊

  3. B R U H .______. says:

    Can y’all just for once leave the fact that NF is Christian alone? Like, yes his faith is a part of his music. But it’s not ALL of his music; it’s also about his depression and the hardships he faced.

    • Anonymous says:

      I get your place, some perspective though, as Christian’s one of the things we love is music . We’ve had some hip hop and rap in the Christian genre but not many. There’s never been a rapper that’s made a name for himself in both the secular music world and the Christian music world. nF accomplished that.

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