The Beach Boys' de facto leader Brian Wilson is recognized as a strong influence on the album's lush arrangements and layered vocal harmonies, while the guitar and keyboard rhythms on the album are considered as languid and minimal. The album's themes surrounds Ocean dealing with his masculinity and emotions, inspired by sexual experiences, heartbreak, loss and trauma.īlonde received widespread acclaim, with critics praising Ocean's introspective lyrics and the album's unconventional and progressive sounds. Critics also complimented the album for challenging the conventions of R&B and pop music. Supported by its lead single ' Nikes', the album debuted at number one in several countries, including the United States. It earned first week sales of 275,000 with album-equivalent units in the US, with 232,000 being pure sales, and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Among other publications, Time named it the best album of 2016. Metacritic named it the third most critically acclaimed album of the year by music publications.

It was a timely reminder: Ocean blossoms fully when he has complete creative control.In 2020, Pitchfork named it the best album of the 2010s and Rolling Stone ranked it at number 79 on their updated list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. In 2016, after missed release dates and cryptic silence, Frank surprise-released Endless, his final record with Def Jam, via a black-and-white live video stream-and, the next day, self-released Blonde, an album that blurred boundaries between soul, hip-hop, electronica, and indie rock. Though never outwardly labeling his sexuality, Frank became one of the first black artists to address his queerness so openly.

That website remains his direct communication line to his fans-the platform on which he revealed that his “first love” was a man, days prior to releasing his 2012 major-label debut, Channel Orange. Raised in New Orleans, the singer/songwriter signed to Def Jam as a solo artist in 2009, but his contentious relationship with the label led him to share his 2011 breakout mixtape nostalgia, ULTRA as a free download on Tumblr. A master of confessional songwriting, Frank Ocean (aka Christopher Breaux) earned cult-icon status with his enigmatic persona and idiosyncratic approach to pop.

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