“Only” by NF & Sasha Sloan

If someone were to judge this track from its chorus, in which the artists (NF & Sasha Sloan) state that they are “lonely” and ‘need company’, one may conclude, also considering that it is a male and female singing, that this is a love song. But in fact there is nowhere in its lyrics where romance is even mentioned. Indeed even the expressed necessity for companionship, within the overall context of the song, is more metaphorical than actual. That is to say that the song’s title is derived from NF going through a certain type of internal conflict in which he questions if he is “the only” person suffering from such.

And anyone who is already familiar with NF’s common subject matter already knows from where his anxiety is sourced. He is someone who ‘loves his job’ as a rapper but at the same time ”hate(s) fame”. Moreover he wishes that he would focus more on spiritual matters, i.e. his “faith”.

And overall this is a deeply-introspective track, where the rapper even questions if he can truly trust himself. And he concludes that, like others, he is chasing goals which he is not even convinced will ultimately make him “happy”. He also alludes to the fact that he has self-esteem issues, which are partially sourced in how fans sometimes treat him harshly, as well as the idea that he has actually been diagnosed with mental-health issues. In other words, NF once again presents himself as the music superstar who appreciates his accomplishments but at the same time is somehow tormented by them. And all of this leads to him feeling, to a large degree, that he is “lost”. And in the midst of it all he also feels that he is the “only” one suffering these issues, which once again takes us to the title of the song.

But conclusively, despite relaying this song largely from a the perspective of a celebrity, NF more than understands that, generally speaking, others have the same self-doubts and challenges that he does. But that does not negate the fact that these issues have left him with a sense of loneliness which by and large he feels no one can relate to.

Facts about “Only”

• NF Real Music in conjunction with Caroline Distribution released “Only” as part of NF’s album The Search on 26 July 2019.
• It is the only track on the entire album in which NF teams up with another vocalist. In fact the chorus of the song is actually a sample from a track Sasha Sloan dropped in 2018 entitled “The Only”.
• The writers of “Only” are NF, Tommee Profitt, Sasha Sloan and via her sample King Henry. NF and Profitt also produced the track.

Was this track a single?

No. The official singles from The Search are as follows:

• “Why”
• “The Search”
• “When I Grow Up”
• “Time“