Hope (NF album)

Hope is the fifth studio album by American rapper NF, released on April 7,2023 through Capitol Music, NF Real Music, and Virgin Music. It was preceded by two singles: "Hope" and "Motto", with the third single "Happy" being released the same day as the album. It features guest appearances from Cordae and Julia Michaels. NF later announced a 47-stop world tour on March 30, 2023, in support of the album, with the former as a special guest. It is his first album in four years since 2019's  The Search, and his first project in two years since 2021's Clouds (The Mixtape).

Promotion
The album was announced on February 16, 2023, along with the title track and second single, and released along with the music video of the track "Happy" on April 7, 2023.

Critical reception
Critic Robin Murray of Clash wrote, "This is perhaps [NF's] most personal document yet, one that dares to deal with self-doubt and worthlessness in the public gaze. While some tracks hit harder than others,... it's a worthy attempt to look beyond the darkness, and embrace the light."

Khushboo Rathore from The Diamondback wrote, "As a whole, the album feels a little disorganized, but it's a positive turn on NF's usual content. It feels good to see him growing and becoming happy, and it gives me hope for my own future."

An anonymous writer of Allmusic gave the album a 3.5 star rating, describing the album as "building upon the emotional struggles that informed 2016's Therapy Session and 2019's The Search with a sense that there is often a light at the end of a dark tunnel."

Commercial performance
Hope debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, selling 123,000 album-equivalent units, of which 80,500 were pure album sales. The album, which was blocked from the number one spot by country singer Morgan Wallen's One Thing at a Time, became NF's third top-ten album (and fourth top-ten project overall).

Track listing
Notes
 * $undefined$ signifies an additional producer.
 * All tracks are stylized in all caps, such as "Hope" being stylized as "HOPE".

Personnel

 * NF – vocals, production
 * Alex Dobbert – mastering (1–4, 6, 7, 12)
 * Mike Bozzi – mastering (5, 8–11, 13)
 * Tommee Profitt – mixing (1, 2, 4–9, 11, 12), programming (1, 2, 4–9, 11, 12)
 * Jeff Sojka – mixing (1–12), programming (1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 9, 12)
 * David Garcia – mixing (10, 13), programming (3, 10, 13), engineering (10, 13), keyboards (10, 13), guitar (13)
 * Cordae – vocals (3)
 * Cole Walowac (Saint X) – programming (4, 7, 9, 10, 12), keyboards (10)
 * Julia Michaels – vocals (8)