Mr. Ocean's Masterpiece

             Frank Ocean has stood out to me as a once-in-a-lifetime artist from the first day that I listened to his music. My first exposure to Frank Ocean was with the single “Swim Good” which was released in late 2011. A friend told me to listen to the song, and then suggested that if I enjoy the single then I should listen to his whole mixtape, Nostalgia Ultra, which was released earlier in the year. I ended up loving the song just upon the first listen, and I ended up indulging in the entire project that Frank released in 2011. In conclusion, I fell in love with Frank’s voice, production, and subject matter very quickly.

 

            Then a little over a year later, Frank Ocean released a full length album follow up to his highly acclaimed mixtape. The album was called Channel Orange and it quickly became an album that everyone needed to listen to just due to the sheer talent displayed on the project. The highlight song for me is “Pyramids”, which is a deep analysis on how the black women went from ruling the world during ancient times to being a sexual afterthought withing the Western culture. The song sonically feels like a pyramid with the first half being an upward electronic beat and then the second half being a slowed down R&B beat winding down to the conclusion. The message alone was profound enough, with the focus being on a great black ruler such as Cleopatra being relegated to a strip club existence in Western times, but the production on top of it was an immense experience.

 

            Frank Ocean released Channel Orange in 2012, and all the fans (including myself) were anticipating an album from him for a long time. Then at last, he released a visual album called Endless which was an Apple music platform exclusive, before releasing his magnum opus on August 20th, 2016 by the name of Blonde. This album is one of my favorite albums of all time for many reasons, but the most important being that it is immensely relatable. The masterpiece of the album is the track “Nights”, which details Frank’s turbulent relationship with a partner within the first half of the song before the beat switches and he goes on to describe the hardships of his own life, such as living through the Hurricane Katrina massacre in his hometown of New Orleans. The type of honest and introspective reflection is the reason why Frank Ocean fans such as myself love his music so much. He never fails to lay all of his emotions out on the canvas, and he paints a beautiful picture while describing very depressing aspects of life. 

 

            Frank Ocean has been nothing short of being an inspirational figure to myself over the years. He is immensely understanding, and his older and wiser approach to his lyrics has made myself learn some very real lessons from his music. He has been in many places over his life and it can be seen through the energy that he brings in his music. Blonde will always be a perfect album to me, and I am still anxiously waiting for the next masterpiece that Frank Ocean has in store for us. 

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