Frank Ocean

Everything We Know About Frank Ocean’s Next Album

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Frank Ocean Panorama Music Festival
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Frank Ocean is one of those artists who immediately captured the world’s attention. As soon as Channel Orange was released, it catapulted Frank, born Christopher Breaux, into superstardom. Yes, his previous mixtape Nostalgia Ultra was a fan-favorite as well, but the co-sign of Def Jam and Channel Orange‘s high-profile guests like Earl Sweatshirt, Andre 3000, and John Mayer, made it clear that this was an artist’s artist. A few years later, his cleverness in pulling the wool over his label’s eyes with Endless, and immediately following it up with Blonde helped establish Ocean as a legacy artist following in the footsteps of fellow rebels like Prince. Now that it’s been almost six years, though, fans are hopeful that some of things Ocean has been teasing over the last few years will finally see the light of day. Here’s what we know so far about what might be next.

Everything We Know About Frank Ocean’s Next Album
One thing we do know is that Frank has been reportedly shopping a new record around to labels. It seemed like he was gearing up to head into album mode back in 2019 when he shared both “DHL” and “In My Room,” but it’s likely the pandemic got in the way of any planned releases in early 2020. Though, he did put out another pair of singles in March of 2020, releasing “Dear April” and “Cayendo.” During a recent Christmas episode of his Apple Music radio show, Blonded, he also shared another new nine-minute track. Still, the best timeline we have for his new album is pegged to his rumored headlining slot at Coachella 2023. So it makes the most sense that even if we get a few new singles this year and in early 2023, that the project would drop close to his appearance at the biggest festival in the world.

When Is Frank Ocean Releasing A New Album?

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Frank Ocean Met Gala 2019
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The eternal question for music fans always looms large when artists take a few years off: When will they return? And since the back-to-back — or bait-and-switch — release of Endless and Blonde in 2016, Frank Ocean has been mostly off the grid. He did resurface to pay homage to his great friend Virgil Abloh after the fashion legend’s passing, but staying out of the spotlight is basically a full-time job for this R&B star. Still, it’s been close to six years since we got a full-length from Ocean and inquiring minds want to know, will we ever get another? And if so, when?

When Is Frank Ocean Releasing A New Album?
Unfortunately, if you came here looking for a definitive answer, that isn’t really in the cards at this time. Ocean has been slowly but steadily releasing songs here and there on his Apple Music radio show Blonded, including a pair of singles, “Dear April” and “Cayendo” back in 2020, but has spent the bulk of the pandemic canceling releases or working on secret side projects.

Due to delays and cancellations related to the pandemic, Frank won’t be headlining Coachella this year — though he was slated to in 2020 — but the festival’s co-founder claims he will in 2023. So maybe we’ll finally get an album before that massive appearance? Which means there’s a potential singles could start rolling out in late 2022… so that’s what we’ll go with for now. Give it six months and check back in. Rumors that he’s been shopping an album around to labels are persistent, so it could be a matter of timeline, and Coachella makes the most sense so far.

Frank Ocean Fans Are Very Unhappy With Machine Gun Kelly’s Cover Of ‘Swim Good’

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A new project from Frank Ocean has been on the horizon for years. Remember when he hinted at a new LP with his 2019 songs “DHL” and “In My Room“? Yeah, that never happened. Ocean’s fans were probably excited to see the musician’s name trending on Twitter Wednesday evening, presuming it be news about Ocean’s next release. So one can imagine their disappointment when they instead found a cover of “Swim Good” by none other than Megan Fox’s blood-drinking fiancé, Machine Gun Kelly.

Machine Gun Kelly has been very prolific when it comes to his own music, after having dropped his well-received Tickets To My Downfall and announcing yet another Travis Barker-produced album. But this week, the musician decided to take on Oceans’ Nostalgia, Ultra mixtape fan-favorite “Swim Good.” Machine Gun Kelly said it’s one of his “favorite” songs, and infused some of his now-signature pop-punk style into the cover. He also recorded a video to accompany the cover, which sees him wistfully singing the song against an ocean backdrop.

While Machine Gun Kelly was overjoyed to share the rendition, Ocean fans didn’t quite feel the same way. Sharing their disappointment about the cover on Twitter, people absolutely dunked on Machine Gun Kelly while taking it upon themselves to apologize to Ocean for his cover.

Listen to Machine Gun Kelly’s cover and see how Ocean fans reacted above.

Machine Gun Kelly Decided To Do A Pop-Punk Cover Of Frank Ocean’s ‘Swim Good’

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Machine Gun Kelly has been everywhere lately, whether it’s gracing magazine covers with his new romantic partner, Megan Fox, or getting engaged to her with some pretty weird rituals involved. Thorny engagement ring? Check. Anyway, after all the excitement around his personal life and relationship, MGK decided to get back to what he does best — helping his friend Pete Davidson talk about penis size.

Just kidding!

I meant music, and the pop-punk/rap star decided a cover was the way to get back into the game. He set himself up for a pretty big challenge, though, by deciding to cover Frank Ocean, who is such a beloved creative that he’s a very tough artist to do justice to. Tackling “Swim Good,” off Ocean’s Nostalgia, Ultra mixtape, which was the second single for the release, MGK gave the song a decidedly pop-punk twist. You know how every pop-punk album in the mid-2000s had to have at least one downtempo song with poignant lyrics and some barren acoustic strumming? That’s the direction Kelly went with this cover, departing from the lush production of the original.

Given the song’s fairly dark subject matter about failed love, it doesn’t totally make sense as a cover for a man who is madly in love with his new fiancé, but then again, little MGK does is logical in the first place. When he shared the cover today, Kelly called it “one of my favorite songs,” so clearly he has respect for Frank Ocean.

Check out the song above.

Frank Ocean Debuted A Nine-Minute Track During A Christmas Episode Of ‘Blonded’

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It’s been over five years since Frank Ocean‘s last album, Blonde. Since then, he’s sporadically released singles, like 2017’s “Biking” and “Provider,” but no full-length work. His fans freak out any time the musician releases anything, and on Christmas Day, they got a nice present: an untitled track, which premiered during an episode of Frank’s Blonded radio show on Apple Music, that runs a full nine minutes.

In a post to his Instagram Story, Frank explained how the song came together, revealing that it was recorded in a single take during the summer of 2020. He also spoke about speaking with Dutch extreme athlete and motivational speaker Wim “The Iceman” Hof after the death of Frank’s younger brother Ryan Breaux in August 2020.

“Me and @iceman_hof had a conversation some time ago when I was in the earlier stages of grief and I remember marbling afterwards at how his energy blasted through the phone,” Frank said. “So much vim in this Wim. We spoke for a while about his work, the purpose of grief and how going into the cold water changed his life.” He added, “It reminded me of conversations in the studio with players I know. Freewheeling, psychedelic, emotionally charged, intelligent and generous. I enjoyed listening to him, so in this edit I just let him speak interrupted.”

The nine-minute track is Frank’s first release since he shared “Dear April” and “Cayendo” in April 2020.

You can hear the new song in the video above.

Best Mixtapes From 10 Years Ago Ranked

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The best 25 tapes from 2011 created by Lil Wayne, Frank Ocean, A$AP Rocky, The Weeknd, Meek Mill and more. Continue reading…

Frank Ocean Shared A Moving Tribute To Virgil Abloh: ‘You’re A Hero’

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After the extremely tragic and untimely death of Virgil Abloh at age 41 this Sunday, the hip-hop and fashion worlds are reeling over the loss of such a monumental talent. Kanye West dedicated his latest Sunday Service to his long-time collaborator, and artists like Tyler The Creator have already praised Virgil’s influence on them, and though he barely posts on social media at all anymore, Frank Ocean has also poured out his heart honoring the late designer on Instagram today.

As usual, there’s no one better at putting the most important things into words than Frank, so I’ll let his words speak on their own.

“In 2018 I believe it was I called V and asked him how it was possible to play hundreds of shows a year and do numerous fashion collections a year and be a father and a husband and return EVERYONE’s texts with enthusiasm and emojis and encouragement and seemingly with ease. I cannot remember how he responded verbatim but I’m sure it was quotable what ever he said… he was always quotable. But the gist of his response was that he was interested in living and living to the maximum extent of his level … which proved to be impossible today because he was BEYOND.

I’ll miss you. When Ryan went to his prom you got him some pieces from your new collection at LV and he was GEEKED. Couldn’t get him to take it off. When I went to Miami and you played a set on the beach in 2016 you played “White Ferrari” — a song with no drums or bass anywhere to be found lol — and started a sing a long. When I played you demos of shit I was working on or showed you Homer way before it was ready you put the battery in my back. When my brother passed I never said anything because it was way too much but he loved you and really looked up to you. He was going to fashion school and everything. He wanted to be a designer. My family was proud of you like you were our family. I know grief is love that you don’t get to express so this is an attempt at expressing it. Love you V. You’re a hero.”

Check out the post from the @blonded Instagram story below:

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Lil Nas X Hopes To Work With Frank Ocean After Meeting Him At The Met Gala

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Lil Nas X expressed his wish to work with Frank Ocean after meeting him at the Met Gala this past month. The younger artist looks up to Frank for obvious reasons and was able to let him know how much he means to Nas when they spoke. Nas also told Frank that he wants to collaborate with him, according to an interview the “Industry Baby” rapper gave to Andy Cohen on his SiriusXM radio show.

“I feel like I’ve met so many great people, but definitely Frank Ocean is top of my list,” Nas enthused. “Because for one, he represents a lot to me, and you’d never see Frank Ocean anywhere. He’s one of those people that are not real, you know? Outside of social media that was the first time we met, like, ever… [He was] giving props and congratulations and whatnot. And I was just saying the same thing to him. And just how much his music has shaped my life and [how I’m] hoping to collaborate with him.”

In a prior interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, Nas addressed the impact that performers like Frank Ocean and Tyler The Creator had on him growing up. “I think artists like Frank and Tyler, they made it easier for me to be where I am, comfortably,” he said.

Watch Lil Nas X’s interview with Andy Cohen above.

Frank Ocean Has Reportedly Been ‘Shopping A New Album’ At Several Record Labels

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Frank Ocean is notoriously tight-lipped about any possibility of any new music from him. It’s been nearly five years since the musician’s last full-length release and it was looking like he was starting to gear up for a new era of music in 2019 with his “In My Room” and “DHL” singles, which eventually ended up being one-off releases. But now, fans can hold onto hope that a new album is right around the corner thanks to new allegations that Ocean is in talks with several record labels.

Every once in a while, the internet lights up with reports that a new Ocean album is right around the corner. This time, the report comes from Hits Daily Double, which alleges Ocean is “shopping a new album” to several label heads. The report states that the musician has been “taking meetings and playing the music for execs,” and that the new album is “f*cking great.” Apparently, Ocean is being represented by attorney Laurie Soriano, who Complex reached out to for comment about Ocean’s alleged album.

If Ocean was in fact planning on rolling out an album on a new label, it would line up with his confirmed appearance at Coachella 2023. The California festival’s co-founder Paul Tollett recently revealed that Ocean was unavailable for next year’s Coachella, but is expected to headline in the future.