Rap crooner Lizzo is giving Frank Ocean all his salutations and respect. The hip-hop star has stepped up to dish on just how special the Odd Future member is and how he’s changed music for the better by doing something out of the norm. Lizzo Believes Frank Ocean Did The Most For Music In an […]
Frank Ocean and Rihanna have at least one thing in common: Over the last five years they haven’t released new music. But he’s clearly itching to do something. Now he’s back with a new project — but it’s not new music. It’s called Homer, and it’s a luxury brand, selling mainly jewelry. The singer spoke about it in an interview with The Financial Times.
“My mother was into jewelry, but in a low-key Princess Diana kind of way,” he revealed. “My godfather was into guns, but he was also into cars, and he bought luxury-lifestyle magazines, which I became obsessed with. They became a form of play for me as a child. It was the furthest thing from my actual life at the time, and I began plotting ideas and a life in that universe. I’d look at yachts and want one. But I don’t have one because I get super-seasick.”
Frank also revealed that he picked the name Homer “mostly because it’s five letters and the dotcom was available.” He said the name is also based on the fact that “Homer is considered the father of history and history is meant to endure — the same as diamonds and gold — and I know Homer used papyrus, but I’ve always liked the idea of carving history into stone.”
Ocean also discussed Homer in a post to his Instagram Story. In it, he wrote:
Hand on my heart, this project has kept my mind moving and my imagination turning throughout it all. All of my work now is dedicated to my family. Everything. My hope is to make things that last, that are hard to destroy, set it in stone. I’m so fucking happy for everyone involved and I admire you and am proud of you … This is three years in the making and there is so, so much I’m excited to share with all you strangers.
The “independent American luxury brand,” which will soon open a storefront on NYC’s Lower East Side, shared its first collection of jewelry, which ranges from a $435 pendant to a $1.9M necklace. A catalog and in-store appointments can be requested on the brand’s website here.
You can view Frank Ocean’s Instagram Story post abvoe and read his full interview with Financial Times here.
Back in January 2020, the lineup for that year’s Coachella festival was unveiled, with Frank Ocean as one of the headliners alongside Travis Scott and Rage Against The Machine. The event was pushed back to 2021 and then 2022; A couple months ago, it was revealed the 2022 festival will take place from April 15 to 17 and April 22 to 24. The lineup has yet to be revealed, but festival co-founder Paul Tollett shared some tidbits about it in a new Los Angeles Times story. The most notable takeaway: Frank Ocean won’t be performing in 2022 since he was unavailable for the rescheduled dates, but he’s apparently set to take the Coachella stage in 2023.
Explaining why he decided to make that reveal so far in advance, Tollett told the publication, “Right now, it’s the Wild West. I’m just trying to be as fair as I can to artists and to the fans to make sure that eventually they get to see everyone that we talked about.”
The story also notes that Scott and Rage Against The Machine will return to headline in 2022, while a third headliner is set to be announced.
Elsewhere in the piece, Tollett discusses what it was like to delay Coachella so many times and the state of the music/concert industry at large, so read the full story here.
New Frank Ocean music is a rare thing. His last album, Blonde, came out in 2016, and he’s only released a handful of songs since then. However, today brings new music from Ocean that we weren’t expecting, as he makes a surprise appearance on Call Me If You Get Lost, the new album from Odd Future associate Tyler The Creator.
Ocean pops up on “Lemonhead,” although he doesn’t appear to be credited for it on streaming platforms. Ocean comes in during the latter half of the two-minute song. As Tyler sings, Ocean offers a few spoken-word lines, saying, “My bro is runnin’ his finger around th-the Ai Weiwei, Ai Veivei bowl. I got that sh*t sittin’ on my counter like a fruit bowl, that’s like a hundred racks. I like the color green, in every shade. I like life. Mine, like, my life. Don’t f*cking bite, y’all n****s love to steal.”
Ocean’s lyrics reference artist and activist Ai Weiwei, whose work titled “Bowls Of Pearls” — which consists of two porcelain bowls filled with pearls, made to look like bowls of rice — sold for $391,500.
Listen to “Lemonhead” above.
Call Me If You Get Lost is out 6/25 vie Columbia Records. Pre-order it here.
It’s not every performer that has the audacity to cover Frank Ocean, because delivering a performance that’s at least comparable to his exemplary vocal abilities is a significant challenge. However, Arlo Parks has emerged as one of the finest new vocalists to emerge in a while, and she did just fine when she took a crack at Ocean’s “Ivy” for a new BBC Radio 1 Piano Sessions performance. Seated behind the keys, she also sang one of her own songs, “Hurt.”
She shared some photos from the session and wrote, “It was an honour to sing sum Frank Ocean and Hurt for @bbcradio1’s Chillest Show – there’s something so deep and soothing about the piano as an instrument.”
These performances don’t come too long after her last time in a Radio 1 Piano Session: Back in September 2020, she joined Phoebe Bridgers to help out with a rendition of Radiohead’s “Fake Plastic Trees.” Parks also played piano as Bridgers sang her single “Kyoto.”
This also arrived just days ahead of this year’s Brit Awards, which take place tomorrow, May 11. Parks is up for handful of big awards: Best British Female, Breakthrough Artist, and Best Album (for Collapsed In Sunbeams).
Watch Parks’ performances of “Ivy” and “Hurt” above.
Top Dawg Entertainment crooner SZA might be hopping in the studio real quick. She went online to let it be known that she’d inquire about getting a dope remix done with a certain R&B star. SZA Says She’ll Ask Frank Ocean For “Good Days” Remix SZA took to her Instagram Story to let fans know […]
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