Have We Heard Frank Ocean's Last Album?

While driving to my daughter's field trip to chaperone this morning I decided to listen to Frank Ocean. I really enjoy his work. His music is a vibe. It relaxes me. I can really sit back and chill while listening to his stuff. It puts me in a good mood and makes the rest of the day a breeze. But, while listening this morning I realized that we may not get any new music from him ever again. Let’s discuss.

Looking at his discography, the last full length record he put out was "Blonde". That was pre pandemic. And he is notoriously hard on himself and the music he releases. It takes him forever. He never seems to like the third and fourth run through of his music. He is a perfectionist to a fault. He is way too hard on himself. He sets the bar far too high. And I saw what he did at Coachella last year. He was a headliner. People were hyped to hear new music. There were expectations. And he came out, vibed to his own music, sang a few notes here and there and left the stage, not returning for any subsequent weekend. He was supposed to play all three weekends. He claimed that he sprained his ankle, but I think he got too much in his own head. I have to imagine he read, or heard what people were saying about his lone performance and it got to him.

Since Coachella, Frank Ocean has been nowhere to be found. He has been silent on the music front and the social media front. No one seems to know what he is doing. No one seems to know if he is making new music. I like to think he is working hard in the studio. I like to imagine he is going the extra mile to erase what happened the last time he performed live. I like to think he has holed himself up and is cranking out some epic stuff. But I have doubts. I fear that he may just walk away.

I could see him doing just that. He could walk out of the music industry right now and be looked at as a legend based simply on "Blonde" and "Channel Orange". Those are two of the greatest R&B records to ever be released. The writing is top notch. The production is second to none. The stories he paints from song to song is some of the best music that any fan could ask for. So why not just walk away? Why not just wash his hands of the music industry and walk out in a wild yet legendary way. I would not be surprised at all if he did just that. If he just up and quit and moved to the mountains, he'd be forever considered one of the best to do it in the industry. Coachella would be forgotten. The long, seemingly unending wait for new music would be no more. He could go out, leave it all behind and enjoy retirement. What's really stopping him? I listen to his two full length eps all the time. I won't stop listening to those two albums ever. I know his fans will listen to them endlessly.

So, if I had to make a prediction, if people are trying to figure out where my mind is with Frank Ocean and his next step, I'd have to say I don't think he is going to be making any new music anytime soon. Maybe he will never make new music ever again. And while that really bums me out, I will always have "Blonde" and "Channel Orange", and for that I am forever grateful to Frank Ocean. While I hope he makes new music, I don't foresee it coming, maybe ever. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Listens to Frank Ocean's "Blonde"

It finally happened. After what seemed to be years, I think it was two or three total, Frank Ocean finally released his follow up to the wonderful "Channel Orange". I was scouring Twitter the other night, and I saw that some of the people I follow were posting pictures and talking about the new Frank Ocean record. I immediately went to iTunes, in hopes that it would be available for purchase, and not only listenable to through Apple Music, and much to my pleasure, it was right there, the first record in fact, available to buy and download immediately. I did just that, and listened to it the moment it finished downloading. What I heard for the next hour was exceptional. Frank Ocean is a very, very good musician and very much a perfectionist. The album is called "Blonde", and it is so, so good.

"Blonde" was well worth the wait. I was growing frustrated, hearing stories from many different outlets that his second album was going to come out any day. I started to dismiss pretty much everything I heard. I thought Frank Ocean might have been a one album guy. I figured he would go out on a very high note. But, he did not do that. He delivered an excellent record that, I feel, everyone who likes music needs to buy. It is so different and is perfectly Frank Ocean.

What I liked about "Channel Orange" was expanded on so much on "Blonde". Ocean is like a throw back R&B singer who mixes modern hip hop with his music. He does that so well on "Blonde". I have heard some people say that it sounds a bit "disorganized", or "unfinished", but I say to them, go listen to "Channel Orange", it is the same thing. Ocean does things like changing the beat mid song, or cutting a song without a real outro, or throwing in short little songs or segues that some people may not like, or dismiss as not real music. I couldn't disagree more. This is what modern music has become, and when you can make it very good and commercial, you must be doing something right.

The album starts off great, the middle is weird, but awesome, and the last three tracks are epic. I love the opener to the record, "Nikes". The song finds Ocean using a very high voice and singing some great lyrics. He also transitions into a bit of hip hop during the song with equal accomplishment. The chorus, and intro, are very singable. I adore this song. "Pink and White" is another great early track song. He gets very high, and the instrumentation is epic. There is loud squealing from both Ocean and his guitar at the end, and it is great. The interlude that comes next is a great message, possibly from Ocean's mother, that is poignant and important. He then goes into "Solo" which is a great song. It is about being alone and lonely and it is incredible. Later, near the middle of the record, we get a "Solo (reprise)" song, and it features Andre 3000. His verse is absolutely phenomenal. It is reminiscent of something off of "The Love Below". And only someone like Frank Ocean could call up Andre 3000 and get him to do a verse on his new record. They are both similar type of musicians, but 3000 has been more focused on acting lately. He proves on this track that he still has it. "White Ferrari" and "Siegfried" are great songs near the end of the record. "White Ferrari" is a perfect hip hop/R&B song. It sounds like if R Kelly was a legit artist. Ocean is so much better than R Kelly. "Siegfried" is a good song, with some very important lyrics. The song tells a story, and it is a very good and very important story. The closer to the whole record, "Futura Free", is my favorite song on the whole album. It is excellent. Ocean does a bit more rapping, which I really like, on this song. The beat is excellent, the groove is wonderful, Ocean is fantastic and it is a very good way to close out the album. The song is over 9 minutes long, but the last 3 minutes are people answering random questions. The 5 or 6 minutes of "Futura Free" that are an actual song is tremendous.

Look, I know we had to wait a very long time for this record. I know some people may be complaining about the "disorganization" of the record. I know some people may not get it. But, two or three years from now, everyone will look back at "Blonde" as being one of the best records of all of 2016. Compared to some of the crap that is on the radio, i.e., Meghan Trainor, Britney Spears, Flo Rida, I could go on and on and on, we should be thankful that a good, real musician is putting out very good, very real music. "Blonde" is excellent, and totally worth any music lovers time. Go buy it now.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He listens to all of his music on an old school 160 GB iPod. Hear him talk all about it on the X Millennial Man. Make sure you also follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.