It’s finally here. The long wait for Frank Ocean’s return to the music scene came to a close on Aug. 19 with the release of Endless, the visual album, Blonde, the official album, and Boys Don’t Cry, the magazine released the following day.
As the name would suggest, the wait seemed endless. It has been four years since the release of Ocean’s debut album, Channel Orange. These four years were rife with broken promises and deadlines that were never met. However, with every passing release date, the hype around the album became greater.
Originally assumed to be Boys Don’t Cry, the official album was released under the name Blonde on Apple Music and Blond on every other platform. The use of both the feminine and masculine forms of the word may allude to Ocean’s own gender and sexual fluidity.
His now open understanding and expression of his identity was clear in the music video for “Nikes,” a single on the album, which was released alongside Blonde. The video was a beautifully constructed medley of naked bodies and neon images in which Ocean is wearing eyeliner and covered in glitter. Here, Ocean breaks the one-sided norm of masculinity and freely showcases the unconventional.
This is exactly what the album is: unconventional. Blonde embodies the sound of a post-millennial pop record, from the electronic glitches to the distortion of sounds to the voices surrounded by beautiful, intricate harmonies. It is unapologetically unconventional. Through creating the sound on this album, Ocean makes clear parallels between his unorthodox music and his unorthodox self.
At first listen, I felt quite disappointed. I was quick to assume that the album was overhyped. However, if one thing is for certain, the album cannot be understood after just one play through. At first, the album feels like it logically progresses in a way that only Ocean can understand, but is just relatable enough to deeply connect with its listeners. The work is incredibly layered and well thought out. The more one listens to it, the more one experiences.
Ocean breaks norms with ease in Blonde—a big jump from Channel Orange, in which it seemed like he hid parts of his true self. The latest album proudly reveals the R&B singer’s personal growth and maturity. Ocean takes the listener on a journey, much alike his own, through struggles around sexuality, identity, growth, and confusion. It is contemplative, poetic, and impressionistic.
Ocean’s style and presentation has matured since Channel Orange. He stripped his music down and presented it as it is: raw, pure emotion. He is able to convey and stimulate a universe of emotion in just a few words.
The messages on Blonde are further strengthened with contributions from quite a few distinguished names in the music industry, including Beyoncé, Kanye West, André 3000, Pharrell Williams, Kendrick Lamar, and Tyler the Creator. It is clear that Ocean has become just as prominent as these artists. On “Pink+White,” he was accompanied by Beyoncé, an artist usually found on the forefront, with her warm, maternal background vocals.
Above all, Ocean finally finished what he set out to do, as he put in a Tumblr post: “THANK YOU ALL. ESPECIALLY THOSE OF YOU WHO NEVER LET ME FORGET I HAD TO FINISH. WHICH IS BASICALLY EVERY ONE OF Y’ALL.” As seen in the Endless film, where Ocean slowly builds a staircase, Frank Ocean is a craftsman, and craftsmanship takes time. However endless the wait, the finished product was definitely well worth our time.
