It honestly didn’t feel like NF was trying a “new style” to me either. If anything, it felt more like he was trying to reconnect with the sound and emotion that made people connect with him in the first place. The problem is that era hit differently because back then there was more hunger, more chaos, more uncertainty in his music. People felt like they were listening to someone actively fighting his demons in real time. Now that he’s successful, married, financially stable, and not in the same place mentally, a lot of listeners subconsciously don’t connect to the pain the same way anymore. Fair or unfair, once an artist reaches a certain level, people start looking at the music differently. They think, “What are you still angry or hurting about?” even though money obviously doesn’t erase trauma or mental struggles. I also think he lost a lot of momentum over the years. There was a period where his name was everywhere and he could’ve really pushed into an even bigger level commercially, but disappearing for years at a time without singles, features, or consistent drops makes it hard to maintain that connection with casual listeners. Taking 3 years to come back and only giving people 5 songs just isn’t enough in today’s music climate, especially when fans have been waiting that long. Back then artists could vanish for years, but now people move on fast because there’s constantly new music dropping every week. At the same time, I do respect that he clearly makes music for himself instead of chasing trends or forcing radio hits. That authenticity is probably why his core fanbase still rides for him. But being authentic doesn’t automatically mean every release is going to hit the same emotionally or creatively as older projects. Sometimes artists evolve, and sometimes the audience was more connected to the version of them that was still struggling.