Frank Ocean is one of the best artists of the last decade and I have good reasoning for why, but first let’s get some backstory on him. Ocean, Christopher Breaux, is a Rap/R&B artist who started his career as a ghostwriter for artists like Justin Bieber, John Legend, and Brandy Norway before joining the rap group Odd Future, with other artists like Tyler The Creator, and Earl Sweatshirt. The first label Ocean signed to was Def Jam Recordings in 2009. He released his first mix-tape “Nostalgia, Ultra” in 2011 and caught the attention of multiple artists like Beyonce, Jay-Z, and Kanye West. He’s most known for his songs “Thinking Bout You”, “Lost”, and “Pink + White”. He landed a spot on Jay-Z’s album “Watch The Throne” in 2011 and was writing for Beyonce. “Channel, Orange” which took him only 2-3 weeks to write, and won a Grammy for “Best Urban Contemporary Album”. His next and latest album release was “Blonde” in 2016, which was an instant hit, making him nearly $1,000,000 in the first week, and knocking Drake’s “Views” off the top of the charts. This album is so good because it’s relatable, and explores love, identity, and self-reflection, and the lyrics leave its meaning open to interpretation. Apple Music also has this album listed as #5 for one of the best albums of all time. Ocean’s music allows you to express yourself through the music and understand the music and what it’s saying.
For the most part, Ocean hasn’t been active in the music scene in a while and fans are wondering when is the next time he’s going to release. There was speculation he was going to release an album in 2020, before the passing of his 18-year-old brother, Ryan Breaux. His latest singles “Cayendo” and “Dear April” were released in 2020, and are the most recent releases by him. The one argument I could see is the fact that Ocean has only two Grammy awards and if he was such a good artist, why doesn’t he have more Grammy awards? He most likely would’ve had more if he had submitted it for consideration. Ocean said in an interview that he doesn’t like the Grammy voting system and saying ‘‘it just doesn’t seem to be representing very well for people who come from where I come from, and hold down what I hold down,’’ with Kanye West even threatening to boycott the Grammys if Ocean wasn’t nominated. This shows the opinions of other successful and talented artists on Ocean. Other celebrities like Rihanna, Brad Pitt, and even Obama has stated how much they love his music and him as a person. His unique vocal range and falsetto also set him apart from other artists, giving him something that is new and different from what’s already in the music industry. His main inspirations as an artist are Stevie Wonder, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Prince, Radiohead, and plenty of others which show in his music.
The accomplishments he has achieved in his career alone should land him a spot among the greats, but so should everything else about his career. He inspired many artists and introduced people to alternative R&B, which greatly impacted the music industry. Recently, Frank has been posting to social media and even giving hints at new releases, so maybe we’ll see him at the Grammys soon. Go listen to Frank Ocean so you can have your own opinion of him.
