Seven years after the release of Nolstagia Ultra, Frank Ocean's influence on a younger generation of artists is beginning to make itself clear. Choker's new album, Honeybloom, is a beautiful new update on Frank's rapping rnb style (Choker's interested in cars too on "Suzuki Peaches"). It's expansive, chill and emotional.
Last year, choker released his debut, Peak, which released to critical acclaim but the Michigan-born artist has managed to stay relatively underground. Hopefully, with Honeybloom, he'll get more attention. Every song on the album feels unpredictable but inevitable. It's got out of the box production that moves where it needs to, switching seamlessly from the aptly named Houston-style "Screw Wave" where "the soft disappears, voila" to the emotional and jazzy (but still pitch-shifted) "Juno," to the expansive, experimental and catchy "Drift," the first song on the album.
In short, this kid is going places. At only 22 Choker has made a professional, considered album that would make more sense coming from a more experienced thirty year old. Hopefully, there will be more to come.