Last week, Frank Ocean shocked us with a one-minute preview of a new song on his Instagram story, and I have still not recovered. He has been my all-time favorite artist for a few years now, so you can only imagine how many times I’ve listened to the clip since. Since his headlining performance at Coachella this April, Ocean has been M.I.A. He has not put out new music since March 2020, with his two singles “Dear April” and “Cayendo.” His latest album, Blonde, was released in 2016. To say the least, fans have been desperately craving new music and this one-minute clip has renewed hope for a new album.
Even with the lack of new music from Ocean, he will always be my favorite artist and is consistently among my top artists on Spotify. Naturally, I’ve been listening to exclusively Frank Ocean since he gave us a peek at the new music ahead. I’ve compiled a list of his songs that have been on repeat to convert you all to being Frank Ocean superfans.
Blonde
Blonde is the album that made me a fan and will always hold a special place in my heart. I heard this album for the first time during my sophomore year in high school and with every listen, I fall more and more in love with it. There are so many details like Beyonce’s background vocals on “Pink + White” and the beat switch on “Nights” that make the album so unique. This album truly has no skips, and it’s actually impossible to pick my favorites. My best advice: listen to the album in its entirety, and repeat.
Channel Orange
There are very few artists that can make a concept album like Frank Ocean can and this album is proof of that. Every song on the album has a completely different feel and the storytelling is unmatched. The interludes complete the vision of flipping through channels and catching glimpses of the different characters and stories with each song. Recently, this album has become a staple in daily rotation of music. A few of my favorites are:
- “Sierra Leone”
- “Sweet Life”
- “Crack Rock”
- “Pyramids”
- “Monks”
- “Bad Religion”
- “Pink Matter”
- “Forrest Gump”
Bonus! My Favorite Singles
A lot of my favorite songs from Ocean are actually not from either of these two albums. His singles and forgotten debut mixtape, nostalgia ULTRA, deserve some love too. Unfortunately, his first mixtape is no longer available on streaming platforms, but thanks to the fans, a number of the songs are on Spotify under an alias. Here is a playlist of my favorites!
This is the moment fans have been waiting for and I’m beyond ready to hear what else he has in store for us. Happy listening, everyone!