Rapper Frank Ocean’s long-awaited album “Blond” was released this weekend alongside a surprise visual album “Endless”, exclusively to Apple Music.
His latest album, “Channel Orange,” came out in 2012, making this a four-year break for Ocean. “Blond’s” release was a year overdue. So the immediate release fueled talk on all social media, making him the talk of the weekend.
Ocean addressed his fans through his Tumblr page about the journey that both artist and audience partook throughout the making of the album.
“I had the time of my life making all of this,” he said, “Thank you all. Especially those of you who never let me forget I had to finish. Which is basically every one of y’all. Haha. Love you.”
He also explained via Tumblr the inspiration behind the album: “It’s basically a reimagined part of my boyhood. Boys do cry, but I don’t think I shed a tear for a good chunk of my teenage years. It’s surprisingly my favorite part of my life so far.”
Ocean compensated the long wait with the addition of the 45-minute visual album, “Endless,” streaming since Thursday that has received acknowledgement as a work of art. The aesthetically pleasing video is a black and white live stream of Ocean working in a large abandoned warehouse with new music, completely separate from “Blond,” playing throughout.
The visual album involved the works of orchestras and 22 artists who contributed to the piece such as Radiohead’s guitarist Jonny Greenwood and Electronic artist James Blake.
“Blond”, the actual album, features 14 tracks that can only be (legally) accessed by Apple Music subscribers, or if you purchase the entire album off of iTunes. The exclusivity did not keep fans from listening as it went viral within minutes.
The pensive album draws emotion from listeners and will presumably be one of his most popular works judging by the amount of media it has received within the past few days. “Blond” involves controversial and current social material such as references to the Black Lives Matter movement and even substance abuse.
His most popular track so far, “Nikes,” has lyrics that reference Ocean looking like Trayvon Martin, a black teenager who was shot by a Florida man ””wrongfully in the views of many”” in 2012.
The track “Be Yourself,” an interlude, appears to be a voicemail from his mother.
“Many college students have gone to college and gotten hooked on drugs, marijuana and alcohol.” It says, “Listen, stop trying to be somebody else. Don’t try to be someone else. Be yourself and know that that’s good enough.”
Neither album has seen light for more than a week, and the excitement surrounding their releases has yet to decline. Ocean has received positive feedback and gratitude from the fans and critics who have been anxiously awaiting the unveiling for the past year.