Frank Ocean is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and photographer. Recognized for his idiosyncratic musical style, introspective and elliptical songwriting, unconventional production techniques, and wide vocal range, Ocean is among the most acclaimed artists of his generation. Music critics have credited him with revitalizing jazz and funk influenced R&B, as well as advancing the genre through his experimental approach. He is considered a representative artist of alternative R&B.
Ocean began his musical career as a ghostwriter, prior to joining the hip hop collective Odd Future in 2010. In 2011, Ocean released his critically successful debut mix-tape Nostalgia, Ultra and subsequently secured a recording contract with Def Jam Recordings. Drawing on electro-funk, pop-soul, jazz-funk, and psychedelic music, Ocean’s debut studio album Channel Orange (2012) was one of the most acclaimed albums of 2012. It was nominated for Album of the Year and won Best Urban Contemporary Album at the 2013 Grammy Awards, while the album’s hit single “Thinkin Bout You” garnered Ocean a nomination for Record of the Year.
Following four years of recluse, Ocean released the visual project Endless, the day before releasing his highly anticipated second album Blonde (2016), in order to fulfill contractual obligations with Def Jam. Released independently, Blonde debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Encompassing avant-garde, soul, and psychedelic rock, the album was acclaimed by critics and Ocean was praised for challenging the conventions of contemporary R&B and pop music.
Among Ocean’s awards are two Grammy Awards, a Brit Award for International Male Solo Artist in 2013 and an NME Award for Best International Male Artist in 2017. He was included in the 2013 edition of the Time’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world and the 2017 edition of the Forbes 30 Under 30. Both Insider and The Wall Street Journal regarded Ocean as the most dominant artist of the 2010’s decade. As a photographer, he worked with Vogue at the annual Met Gala and the British fashion magazine i-D. Premiered in 2017, he also has his own Beats 1 radio show, Blonded Radio, that often premiers his new singles.
Musical style
Ocean’s music has been characterized by music writers as idiosyncratic in style. His music generally includes the electronic keyboard, often performed by Ocean himself, and is backed by a subdued rhythm section in the production. His compositions are often midtempo, feature unconventional melodies, and occasionally have an experimental song structure. He has been characterised as both an “avant-garde R&B artist” and a “pop musician”.
In his songwriting, Jon Pareles of The New York Times observes “open echoes of self-guided, innovative R&B songwriters like Prince, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Maxwell, Erykah Badu and particularly R. Kelly and his way of writing melodies that hover between speech and song, asymmetrical and syncopated.” Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone calls him a torch singer due to “his feel for romantic tragedy, unfurling in slow-boiling ballads”. Ocean’s stage presence during live shows has been described by Chris Richards of the Washington Post as “low-key”. While nostalgia, ULTRA featured both original music by Ocean and tracks relying on sampled melodies, channel ORANGE showcased Ocean as the primary musical composer, of which music journalist Robert Christgau opines, “when he’s the sole composer Ocean resists making a show of himself—resists the dope hook, the smart tempo, the transcendent falsetto itself.”
Ocean’s lyrics deal with themes of love, longing, misgiving, and nostalgia. His debut single “Novacane” juxtaposes the numbness and artificiality of a sexual relationship with that of mainstream radio, while “Voodoo” merges themes of spirituality and sexuality, and is an eccentric take on such subject matter common in R&B. The latter song was released by Ocean on his Tumblr account and references both the traditional spiritual “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands” and the female anatomy in its chorus: “she’s got the whole wide world in her juicy fruit / he’s got the whole wide world in his pants / he wrapped the whole wide world in a wedding band / then put the whole wide world on her hands / she’s got the whole wide world in her hands / he’s got the whole wide world in his hands.” Certain songs on channel ORANGE allude to Ocean’s experience with unrequited love.
Impact
Ocean is among the most acclaimed artists of his generation. Music critics have credited him with revitalizing pre-contemporary R&B, as well as approaching the genre differently to his contemporaries through his use of other genres, including avant-garde, electro, rock and psychedelic. His distinctive sound and style have influenced numerous artists of various music genres. Both Insider and The Wall Street Journal regarded Ocean as the most dominant artist of the 2010s decade. He was included in the 2013 edition of the Time’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world and the 2017 edition of the Forbes 30 Under 30.
Andy Kellman of AllMusic wrote,
“Frank Ocean has been one of the more fascinating figures in contemporary music since his early-2010s arrival. A singer and songwriter whose artful output has defied rigid classification as R&B, he has nonetheless pushed that genre forward with seemingly offhanded yet imaginatively detailed narratives in which he has alternated between yearning romantic and easygoing braggart.”
Culture critic Nelson George asserts that, along with Miguel, Ocean has “staked out ground where [he is] not competing with those hit-driven [commercial R&B] acts” and is “cultivating a sound that balances adult concerns with a sense of young men trying to understand their own desires (an apt description of Ocean, particularly).” Writing for Insider, Callie Ahlgrim said that Ocean “changed our very understanding of modern music”, and that he discusses themes like youth, innocence, lost love, loneliness, desire, and mortality in his music in a way that “feels fresh and extraordinary and makes the introspective sound universal and transcendent; which is why he’s one of the defining artists of our time.” Jacob Shamsian of Business Insider said that Ocean “isn’t just one of the most important artists in pop, he’s one of the most important artists in all of music.” In a GQ article titled ‘Why Frank Ocean is a musical icon’, Jon Savage described Ocean as “one of the pop elite”, a “true pop star of today”, and a “consummate contemporary artist in every sense who is immersed in new sonic possibilities, one who is deeply committed to artistic exploration in the most profound sense.” Savage praised Ocean for taking R&B to a “new level [through] constructing startling sound pictures that fit his lyrics.” Pitchfork regarded Ocean as a “master of confessional songwriting, earning a cult-icon status with his enigmatic persona and idiosyncratic approach to pop.”
In a 2011 interview, Ocean stated that he had attempted to change his name to Christopher Francis Ocean through a legal website on his 23rd birthday. The change was reportedly partly inspired by the 1960 film Ocean’s 11. In March 2014, it was reported that he was legally changing his name to Frank Ocean. In November 2014, it was revealed that the name change had not been legalized due to multiple speeding offenses. It was finally legalized on April 23, 2015.
Tracklist
A1 –Wolfgang Tillmans Device Control 0:57
A2 –Frank Ocean At Your Best (You Are Love) 5:19
A3 –Frank Ocean Alabama 1:25
B1 –Frank Ocean Mine 0:32
B2 –Frank Ocean U-N-I-T-Y 2:53
B3 –Frank Ocean Ambience 001: In A Certain Way 0:11
B4 –Frank Ocean Comme Des Garcons 0:52
B5 –Frank Ocean Ambience 002: Honeybaby 0:08
B6 –Frank Ocean Wither 2:50
B7 –Frank Ocean Hublots 2:10
B8 –Frank Ocean In Here Somewhere 1:46
C1 –Frank Ocean Slide On Me 3:13
C2 –Frank Ocean Sideways 3:02
C3 –Frank Ocean Florida 0:39
C4 –Frank Ocean Deathwish (ASR) 1:18
C5 –Frank Ocean Rushes 5:35
D1 –Frank Ocean Rushes To 3:25
D2 –Frank Ocean Higgs
D3 –Wolfgang Tillmans Device Control
Frank Ocean discography
Nostalgia, Ultra (2011)
Channel Orange (2012)
Blonde (2016)
Associated acts
Odd Future
Jay-Z
Jazmine Sullivan
Malay
Om’Mas Keith
Travis Scott
Tyler, the Creator
Kanye West
