It's either too early or too late to deem Frank Ocean's reign within the music industry as a legendary or classic run. No matter the classification though, it is undoubtedly true that Ocean is one of the biggest and most influential artists in the industry to date, in addition to the fact that he can truly deliver intricately crafted, socially aware, multi-genre spanning projects time and time again.
Since as early as 2005 Frank Ocean, born Christopher Edwin Breaux, has been actively building an impressive resume. After Hurricane Katrina ripped through his Hometown of New Orleans, Louisana and ravaged his recording studio, he moved to Los Angeles to continue pursuing a career in Music. The singer recorded demos and hustled around the city to make connections within the industry that would eventually result in his first deal as a Songwriter. Before long he was writing for artists like John Legend, Beyoncé, Pharell and more.
By 2011, young Christopher Edwin Breaux had finally made the decision to trade the anonymity of songwriter in for the woeful experience of a solo artist and began working with the Tyler The Creative and the collective OFWGKTA as well as releasing his critically acclaimed project Nostalgia, Ultra. The project put Frank Ocean on the map, as Nostalgia, Ultra garnered Ocean his first charting single with "Novacane."
Then in 2012, Frank Ocean released his highly anticipated and celebrated debut Channel Orange and subsequently skyrocketed himself into the celebrity orbit. The project debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and secured the attention of the world as all eyes were then fixated on Frank Ocean. However, the several years that followed in between the release of his debut and his sophomore project were filled with unkept promises and several delays, but finally, in August 2016, Frank Ocean released his visual album Endless along with his anticipated sophomore follow-up Blond.
Once again, Frank Ocean is on top of the world, and while he has given us two incredibly dense and vivid albums and several singles as of late, many are afraid that he will soon fall back into his infamously reclusive ways and disappear without a trace for years. So in preparation of the possible looming Frank Ocean drought, here are 10 of his most essential tracks, with the addition of a few extras here and there.
Frank Ocean
"Acura Integurl"
In 2011 Frank Ocean released Nostalgia Ultra, the project that introduced him to the masses. However, that same year a gargantuan project titled The Lonny Breaux Collection that featured some 60 plus songs surfaced online. The mixtape definitely isn't an official release, but it holds some of the most highly coveted gems of Frank's early career.
One of those diamond in the rough tracks is "Acura Integurl" a metaphorical memento of appreciation for both an intimate relationship with a woman and the famously discontinued Honda Acura Integra. This song is a true nod to Frank Ocean's superb penmanship as he combines thoughtful clarity with rose-tinted ideals of love and simplicity to create a complex, yet concise tale of change and growth within the mind of a lover longing for normality.
Plus it's pretty fucking awesome that he incorporates Lil Wayne's opening line in "Stuntin' Like My Daddy" as the foundational piece of this track saying, "She singing bitch I'm paid, that's all I gotta say, I'm like who knew? That after all the years I'd make a Weezy fan out of you too.nWhen I met you, you were Thom Yorke, Chris Martin and U2. When you met me I was Three 6, Pimp C, Bun B, 8-Ball and MJG, yeah."
Songs like "Acura Integurl" and Nostalgia, Ultra's "We All Try" are stone tablet testaments to Frank Ocean's unique and distinctive songwriting style.
Peep the video for "Acura Integurl" and the track "We All Try" below.
"Swim Good"
In a weird way, The Lonny Breaux Collection serves as a culturing, semi-upbeat precursor to the epic and emotionally tumultuous project Nostalgia, Ultra. When comparing and contrasting the two projects one can find several interesting differences and parallels that further help develop the complex character of Frank Ocean as an artist.
Two songs, in particular, that stick out are "Blasted" and "Swim Good." Both tracks are inherently different but share an eery sort of connection, as both songs deal with the existential weight of a relationship. While The Lonny Breaux Collection track "Blasted" is a warm and endearing love song centered around professing love with tattoos, Nostalgia, Ultra's "Swim Good" is a cold-hearted, plunging ballad of heartbreak personifying the drive to the ocean as his final leap off the edge.
Both tracks intimately portray the heights and depths of relationships in a way that is both situational and experiential and ultimately, relatable. In short, these two tracks are very early references for Frank's expert metaphorical lyrical handiwork.
"Novacane"
Nostalgia, Ultra spans several different genres, which is something we have come to know Frank Ocean to be exceptionally apt to do on his projects. When revisiting the tracks "Novacane" and "There Will Be Tears" we get a small glimpse of the intense versatility this man has within his endless repertoire.
"Novacane" is the somber and classy Jazz swing to the polyphonic, techno-pop of "There Will Be Tears" and the fact that they both live on the same project is evidence that Frank Ocean is the master of fusion.
"Strawberry Swing"
The final three songs from we'll mention from Nostalgia, Ultra really helps to define the project and sheds a bit of light into the mind of Frank Ocean. "Strawberry Swing" is a song all about nostalgia that has a serendipitous and lighthearted tone. On the contrary, though, tracks like "Songs For Women" combine that same sense of nostalgia with a bittersweet and ironic sentiment of confliction.
Within these two tracks, we get to see the beginning of the trail of footprints that led Christopher Edwin Breaux down the path to become Frank Ocean. Additionally, his expertly done cover of MGMT's "Electric Feel" with his highly suggestive "Nature Feels" just seems like the perfect way to end this chapter of his career.
So enjoy all three at the bottom.
"Thinking Bout You"
Though he technically wrote the track for Roc Nation artist Bridget Kelly, and it even appeared on her debut ep Every Girl, "Thinking Bout You" is easily one of Frank Ocean's best and most well-known songs and still puts us as in our feelings now as it did back when it surfaced in 2011 before the release of his debut album Channel Orange.
The record has a smoldering yet velvet smooth aesthetic that evokes very real and visceral emotion. It's songs like "Thinking Bout You" and "Sierra Leon" that struck a chord within the hearts of the masses and allowed Frank Ocean to become the Shakespearean rivaling songster of our generation.
Even more so, both of these records really showcase Frank Ocean's sensational vocal technique in two very different venues.
https://open.spotify.com/track/1HwbgJAU9PZ7YbzKgVgoIF
"Pyramids"
"Pyramids" is more than an essential track, it is quintessential one, flat out. In fact, if you were to listen to one Frank Ocean song and one only, we would recommend that you listen to "Pyramids" not only because it is like two songs in one, but because it's one of the most woke songs to have ever been released. In some ways, this song can be likened to Billie Holiday's world renowned anti-racism song "Strange Fruit" as "Pyramids" is one of the first anti-defamatory songs dedicated to Black women.
"Pyramids" chronicles the fall of the Black woman from her social status as Queen to the constantly deteriorating and negative images of African American women today. This track along with "Crack Rock" symbolically provides a concrete commentary on societal problems in a way that is as sharp as it is lucid and picturesque.
"Super Rich Kids" Ft. Earl Sweatshirt
Channel Orange had something for everyone and "Super Rich Kids" and "Sweet Life" are definitely crowd favorites. The somber yet whimsical evaluation of the silver spoon life is something everyone can appreciate, as well as the musical textures of each of these tracks are respectfully awesome with "SuperRich Kids" leaning toward more of a Funky Jazz vibe while "Sweet Life" takes on more of a soft, easy listening elevator music vibe as the base riffs vibrantly dance across the backbone of the track.
Even more so though, these songs lend a voice to a generation of kids that the world has labeled as lost. Whether or not Frank rightfully brings these wandering souls back to the right path is beyond both you and me, however, I can say that it helps to hear his soothing voice in the clutter of it all as we try to find ourselves.
"Forrest Gump"
Another reason Frank Ocean has so quickly built such a grandiose stature for himself is due to his conceptual genius. The song "Forrest Gump" is a loving roller coaster bearing many references to the actual movie while also completely tearing down the walls of gender roles and sexual norms.
However, it takes a truly calculated mind to follow up the sensitive and utterly reflective track "Forrest Gump" with records like "Pink Matter" and "Lost" which both reach into the abyss of lust and temporal infatuation.
Check out all three tracks below.
"Nikes" Feat. KOHH
In between the four-year gap that splits the releases of Channel Orange and Blonde, the world seemingly fell into the dark ages. Many had alluded to the fact that Frank Ocean may never actually release the album, as he was on his Jay Electronica shit, while others continued to cling on to his debut in with one hand all while holding out hope for his follow-up project in the other hand.
Then, one night in mid-August, his live stream, that had predominantly shown him woodworking up to this point, began to play music, and it was a glorious moment for we all knew that the album was upon us. To our surprise though, what we were hearing was a visual album and subsequently only a portion of the release we would soon see. Then on August 20th at Midnight the video for "Nikes" surfaced on Apple Music and instantly set the Internet on fire, with Blonde following shortly after.
"Nikes" was the perfect intro for this album because it presents the tumultuous struggle Frank Ocean was having within himself regarding things like materialism and lustful hedonism and packaged it into a sort of musical commentary that was perfect for the troublesome times the world was currently going through. Frank continues to depict that power struggle throughout the album with striking and theatrical detail on songs like "Nights" and "Self Control."
All in all, while it felt overdue, the album arrived at the perfect time to help cool the bubbling caldron of emotion and doubt boiling in the center of the room where his freshman debut once lived.
Frank Ocean - 'Nikes' from DoBeDo Productions on Vimeo.
"White Ferrari"
"White Ferrari" could quite possibly be one of the most important songs released in the last five to ten years. It is as much a song about love and permanence as it is a song about materialism and transparency. To top it off the chimerical and staggering ambient magnificence of this song sonically truly can melt away any sort of hardened exterior one might have.
Tracks like "White Ferrari" "Ivy" "Seigfried" and "Skyline To" set the tone on Blonde and leave us to realize once again that the contemplative genius of Frank Ocean is best showcased over moody and spacious riffs allowing him to belt his bewitching decries to our ever-so receiving souls.
Once again, no matter if the album came too little too late, it delivers, and, it's new Frank Ocean, and that's really all that matters.
"Biking" (Solo)
Now that the dust has settled and it is apparent that Frank Ocean has gifted us another goodly sounding work of art, it seems the singer isn't quite yet finished saying what needs to say as he has released a slew of singles as of late. The track is momentous in the sense that it's trying to get somewhere, more specifically, Frank Ocean is trying to reach his peak and is steady pedaling away to get there.
"Biking" hits a sort of tempo and rhythm that is uncharacteristic of Frank Ocean's discography however still feels very much like his sound. In a way, this record is sort of a foreshadowing foreword within the entangled novel that is Frank Ocean's storied career.
If we don't get music for another four years, "Biking" is the single song that will make everything alright.
Peep the track below along with a breakdown of Frank Ocean's visual album Endless, which we also nominate for an honorable mention.