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| hiphopdx.com |
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you may have heard that Frank Ocean dropped a new album. After years of trolling his fans and posting cryptic messages on Tumblr, Blonde is finally out, unless you don’t have Apple Music of course, cuz you gotta wait. However, I am not one of those rabid fans who waited with baited breath for four years. I have honestly never heard a Frank Ocean album or song in my life, but I know he is well-respected and that listening to this album would make for a unique experience. So, did this album win me over to the Frank Ocean camp?
The first thing I need to say about this album is that it’s nothing if not ambitious. It fits the definition of experimental to a tee and tackles some incredibly heavy issues, while also playing around with music and rhythm in a way that I haven’t really heard for awhile in modern hip-hop. While there are still some hip-hop beats and some techno sounds, there are even more guitars, choirs, and other musical elements that you’d find in other genres. The most textbook “experimental” song is probably “Pretty Sweet,” which quite frankly is pretty nuts as a song, but it works because it’s so fascinating. So while I may have some criticisms of it, know that none of it has to do with what Frank Ocean has tried to do here. I’d much rather an artist go big and hit a few stumbling blocks than try to play it safe.
Blonde has an interesting sound (or sounds, really), but what really sets it apart is what Frank tries to tackle with these songs. There are themes of fame, ego, and materialism in songs like “White Ferrari” and “Futura Free,” taking these issues head on and into some very heady territory. This is backed up by some of the more serious music that pops up in the second half of the album, which puts you in the deep mindset to appreciate these lyrics. Other themes that pop up are more abstract, like the idea of binaries and duality, and that is reflected more in the construction of the album itself. The first half is filled with more traditional hip-hop songs, except with better production and more unique beats and background music. In the song “Nights,” at exactly the thirty minute mark (in a sixty minute long album), the entire album shifts into a more soulful R&B-style one that signals the beginning of the deeper songs and more intense music. Things get more morose, the ideals Frank reaches for go loftier, and it isn’t afraid to tug at your heartstrings. Despite this dichotomy, the two halves of the album work together to form an interesting story thread that focuses on the primary theme that Frank continually goes back to: love.
While the other themes are discussed and played with in a few songs, love is what really ties everything together in Blonde. Whether it’s the focus of a really smooth song like “Pink + White” or a very introspective and moving look at Frank’s own interesting sexuality like “Siegfried,” Frank talks about love a lot. This never grows old, though, because you really feel like you’re getting a look into this man’s mind and exploring his emotions with him. It’s very involving stuff and kept me hooked even when some of Frank’s more out there choices started threatening to pull me out of the songs entirely. Even some of the skits do this, with “Facebook Story” being more of a look into how modern culture ruined a relationship and “Good Guy” starting as a song and turning into a skit focusing on one of Frank’s dates with a guy. This thematic arc gets wrapped up in the short goodbye to a lover song “Godspeed” (featuring gospel singer Kim Burrell), and the sheer emotion of it actually moved me to tears, a rare feat.
Even though I wasn’t quite aware of who Frank Ocean was, apparently a lot of folks do because he got some powerhouse people to collaborate with him for relatively minor parts. While artists like Yung Lean and Austin Feinstein get to have an extensive role on “Self-Control” (with the two vastly different artists getting a pretty cool duet), and Andre 3000 gets an entire song to himself in “Solo (Reprise)” (which is a follow-up to the more socially conscious song “Solo”), the bigger names behind the scenes get to do more real work. Beyoncé guest stars in “Pink + White” to say “ooh” and “ahh” a few times, while Kendrick Lamar only says single word phrases in “Skyline To.” The biggest collaborator is actually Pharrell Williams, who helped with a lot of the writing and produced a few songs himself. While it might seem like a waste, everyone fits into this album very well and helps this album be as complex and beautiful as it is.
You all might have noticed that I’ve done nothing but praise this album so far, even though I mentioned that I had a few problems with it. Despite the brilliant construction, intelligent (and sometimes very witty) lyrics, and great sound, I think Frank gets a little too ahead of himself at points. Sometimes the lyrics are intentionally vague, but at certain times I feel like he just tried a little too hard and it fell a bit flat. That is a small nitpick compared to my biggest issue, which is the vocal effect that he uses on his voice for the first half of the album. I don’t know why he did it, and quite frankly I don’t want to because each time I heard that sound I felt like my ears were starting to bleed. This strange, high-pitched whine covers the first half of “Nikes,” the first track, “Ivy,” and “Self-Control.” This obviously goes away in the second half, but it was so annoying and so out of place to me that it nearly ruined my enjoyment of those songs. I wish I could say that was a minor issue, but no matter how I try to fit this aspect into the album it just feels ridiculous and over-indulgent to me.
Despite that complaint, I actually really enjoyed Blonde and found it to be an incredibly moving and intelligent piece of work. While it might relate more to David Bowie’s Blackstar than your average hip-hop album, that’s what makes it so brilliant. If you’re a fan of music I think you owe it to yourself to check this out, because there really isn’t anything out there like this right now, and we may not see something like this for some time. Now I’ll just have to go back and dig into the rest of his discography during the inevitable wait for Frank’s next album. It’s ironic that the last line is “How long is a light year?” because I hope that’s not how long I’ll have to wait!
My Top 3:
- White Ferrari (ft. James Blake)
- Pink + White (ft. Beyoncé)
- Godspeed (ft. Kim Burrell)
My Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Blonde is on sale now on iTunes, and will be available everywhere soon.
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