Christopher Edwin Breaux, most commonly known as Frank Ocean, uploaded a letter to Tumblr on July 4th, which consisted of some heavy topics such as his fluid sexuality and toxic masculinity in the world of hip-hop. This letter would set the tone for his upcoming album Channel Orange, which would be released just six days later on July 10 under Def Jam Records. Channel Orange was not just something fans of Frank Ocean had never heard before, but all hip-hop fans were stunned when they first heard the album due to its heavy topics, such as drug abuse, fluid sexuality, losing yourself in your passion, and reflecting on past relationships.
The first and last songs on Channel Orange are titled “Start” and “End” with both songs having the sound of a television switching stations. This detail makes it easier for the listener to figure out that each song is like its own “episode” instead of the album being one big story. As the album progresses, the topics seem to get more personal. The second song on the album and the biggest is “Thinkin’Bout You,” which is about reflecting on past relationships. Although he no longer has feelings for his past partner, he still thinks about them often. The next big song on the album is “Super Rich Kids,” which is about the last day of a spoiled rich teenager. The song starts with this teenager waking up on his roof after a night of partying, drug use, and drinking, which ultimately ends up being the same roof he falls off of and dies from at the end of the song. Within this song, Frank Ocean uses different tones to represent the teenager’s boredom with normal life. The song “Lost” tends to be a fan favorite on the album and despite its upbeat tempo, this song is about losing yourself in your passion and becoming addicted to the thrill of mania. Within the song, Frank Ocean uses his partner as a drug mule and knows it’s wrong but is too addicted to the thrill of it all getting “lost.” The most controversial and hard-hitting song on the album is “Bad Religion.” This song starts with Frank Ocean in the back of a taxi where he asks the driver to be his “shrink.” The driver offers to pray for Frank, causing Frank Ocean to explain that he does not believe he can belong to a religion because of his sexuality. This is Frank Ocean’s first song where he openly speaks about his sexuality in his music, and this explosive song had a lot of fans taken aback.
Despite all these heavy topics that are mentioned throughout the album it is known to be a very relaxing album by fans. William Howley, a student at Pennridge who often listens to Channel Orange, believes it is the perfect album on a hot summer day when you are trying to relax, stating, “It’s pretty chill, and I can play it when I’m just trying to relax.” Channel Orange isn’t Frank Ocean’s first album, but it is his first album to be on public streaming services. Despite this, Frank has still found his way onto most people’s playlists. When Pennridge student Megan Gustovich was asked about her time listening to Frank Ocean, she said, “I began to listen to Frank Ocean more, and now he will commonly play on my playlist.” It is hard to give the album a specific genre, but it does have aspects of R&B, soul, pop, electric, and hip-hop. All of these aspects have been combined to make the “alternative” genre which Frank Ocean is said to be the founding father of. After the album’s release, he was nominated for seven Grammys, where he managed to bring home two, he won the Brit Award for International Male Solo Artist, and it was listed on the Rolling Stones list for greatest albums of all time.
Since the release of Channel Orange, Frank has only released one other studio album called “Blonde” in 2016, which many say is his best work. Along with this, he posted an Apple Music exclusive hour-long video of him building stairs in a blank room while unreleased music played in the background, which he called “Endless.” Frank Ocean has made himself a mystery, with him very rarely posting on any sort of social media. Frank Ocean left fans hungry for more music in what seemed to be the peak of his career, but besides putting a 15-second clip of new music on his Instagram story in 2023, there have been no signs of there being any sort of new music in the near future.
Sources:
https://djbooth.net/features/2020-03-18-frank-ocean-lost-nostalgia-forever
https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/music/a14816/frank-ocean-channel-orange-10520455/
https://frankocean.fandom.com/wiki/Thinkin_Bout_You#:~:text=The%20song%20is%20about%20reflecting,he%20still%20thinks%20of%20them
https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/music/a14816/frank-ocean-channel-orange-10520455/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_Orange#:~:text=Similar%20to%20Nostalgia%2C%20Ultra%2C%20Channel,quality%2C%20and%20some%20end%20abruptly.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Ocean
https://www.grammy.com/artists/frank-ocean/15669
https://medium.com/@nataliaalvarez/to-what-extent-did-the-release-of-frank-oceans-2012-open-letter-via-tumblr-influenced-the-concept-281e3ed103fe#:~:text=During%20the%20summer%20of%202012,day%20of%20United%20States’%20Independence.
