NF Aiming for #1 with "Perception"

By Timothy Yap Oct 09, 2017 07:25 AM EDT

Christian rapper NF's brand new album Perception is aiming for #1 on Billboard 200. Based on opening day data, Hits Daily Double projects NF's "Perception" to sell 28-32,000 pure US copies this week. "Perception" should debut with about 38-43,000 in total US consumption units.

The figures will allow for prominent bows on the Top Album Sales and Billboard 200 charts, but it is too early to know if they will be enough for #1. "Perception," Marilyn Manson's "Heaven Upside Down," and the Petty and Brown albums are all in the mix for #1 on Top Album Sales.

Celebrating the album's arrival, NF uncovers the music video for his track "Outcast." Over airy orchestration and sparse piano, he serves up scorching bars and powerful lines like, "You looking for the old me, check the morgue." The visual mirrors that cathartic energy as he wields an ancient key to break free.

Watch it HERE.

Just under the radar, Perception has become one of the fall's most buzzed-about hip-hop releases, as focus single "Let You Down," NF's biggest release to date, has clocked over 5 million Spotify streams and 3 million YouTube/VEVO plays in less than two weeks' time and hit #10 both on Spotify's Global and its US Viral Charts. This summer, "Outro"entered the Spotify US Viral Chart at #21, followed by "Green Lights" which landed at #28 on the chart upon arrival. The cumulative streams for both tracks exceed 8 million, while combined video views surpass 6 million since August.

As part of his quiet culture infiltration, NF is fast becoming a D.I.Y. streaming phenomenon due to overwhelming fan support. Already NF took the #1 spot on the Billboard Top Rap Albums Chart with his 2016 sophomore album Therapy Session, and landed in the Top 15 of the mainstream Top 200 to boot.

NF has yielded a string of resonant viral hits."Grindin'" impressively generated over 25 million Spotify streams, "Real" exceeded 12 million, and "Got You On My Mind," "How Could You Leave Us," and "Oh Lord" all racked up more than 9 million each. His music appeared everywhere from Shades of Blue and GRIMM to Empire, while "One Hundred" from the upcoming Perception sound-tracked a promo trailer for HBO's hit show Ballers.