Since Frank Ocean took the music world by storm with his universally acclaimed, Grammy-winning debut album “Channel Orange” in 2012, fans everywhere have been eagerly anticipating the superstar singer-songwriter’s next installment. After four years of rumored release dates, repeated delays, and endless speculation, the wait for the new Frank Ocean album had become as much of a topic of conversation as the album itself. Ocean even poked fun at the process posting a tongue-in-cheek picture of his “library due date slip” on his Tumblr page.
This weekend, the introverted artist finally delivered on his promise of new material in a big way. On Thursday, he released a “visual album,” Endless, on Apple Music, then followed that up on Saturday night with an elaborate art magazine called “Boy’s Don’t Cry” (the rumored name of the new album), a video for new song “Nikes”, and the centerpiece of the weekend of releases, his long-awaited 17-track sophomore LP Blonde. Additionally, Ocean launched four pop-up shops in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and London to distribute free copies of the “Boys Don’t Cry” and Blonde to blocks-long lines of eager fans.
Endless is 45-minute visual concept album (think Beyonce’s Lemonade) featuring Ocean working in a warehouse to the soundtrack of 18 avant-garde new songs. Blonde (stylized as “Blond” on the album cover), is an enthralling 17-track album that shows the artist’s visionary songwriting and soundscape crafting in full effect. The album features a who’s-who of collaborators, including Andre 3000, James Blake, Kanye West, Beyonce, Kendrick Lamar, Pharrell Williams, and more. Ocean also sought the help of several of highly accomplished studio engineers, including Sam Petts-Davies (who worked on Radiohead’s new album A Moon Shaped Pool) and Matt Mysko (Blake’s The Colour In Anything).
After four years, we finally have new Frank Ocean, and judging by the quality, quantity, and diversity of this weekend’s collective releases, it’s clear it was worth the wait. You can stream Blonde in its entirety below: