Frank Ocean made his name in the music industry as a writer long before he became a star in his own right. After signining to Def Jam in 2009 but being imediately shelved and ignored by the label, Ocean took his career into his own hands and self funded his debut project Nostlagia Ultra. Featuring a mix of completley original songs and re-written covers of songs like The Eagles's "Hotel California" and MGMT's "Electric Feel", the mixtape was released for free on Bandcamp to critical acclaim. This success allowed Frank to go back to Def Jam and succesfully negotiate a million dollar deal to write a new album. This mixtape is one of my favortite music projects of all time. Not because it's the best or most enjoyable project but because it builds itself in such a unique way, playing out like Frank's own personal mixtape. It is an underappreciated release that I hope gets a more traditional wide release someday.
After the success of Nostalgia, Ultra, Frank finally got the attention and support necessary to create a full blown studio album. Weeks prior to its release Frank posted a blog on his Tumblr page now known as "The Open Letter." In this letter Frank opened up about his sexuality, a sexuality that would play a large role in the upcoming album. The album was a huge success and has remained one of my most listened to albums ever since it came out in 2012. Frank approached this album largely as a storyteller, even describing himself as a sort of visual artist due to the vivid imagery he writes with. Frank toured and was very active for the remainder of 2012 but soon after he began to slip out of public view.
Four years went by before Frank would release any music. We even stopped hearing from him on his once active Tumblr page. Frank popped up from time to time and went as far as to set a release date for an album during this time. But much like Kanye's Yandhi this year the date came and went and no album came out. Finally after four years of waiting, Frank ocean released a visual album "Endless," and his second studio album Blond in August of 2016. Blonde is my personal favorite of Frank Ocean's albums, reserved but potent, Frank bears his soul on Blonde in a way he had not before now, and that is saying something due to the nature of Channel Orange and the Open Letter. Despite the delays and the long stretcheds of time without any news or updates, Frank delivered and I am very grateful to him for it. Blonde was not made for me but like many a great album it almost feels like it was. Frank taps into the shared feelings we all experience in a way few do and few ever will.