Following the Oct. 28 release of Tyler, The Creator’s CHROMAKOPIA, I only had one question — were people really surprised Frank Ocean wasn’t on the album?
Various social media comments highlighted shocked and disappointed fans who speculated that his vocals may be hidden away on songs such as “Judge Judy.” Correlating with a phenomenon that some referred to as “hallucinating Frank Ocean,” it’s clear people are eager to hear even a snippet of the R&B singer.
Ocean went musically off the grid in early 2020, following the release of his singles “Dear April” and “Cayendo.” Within the eight years since releasing his critically acclaimed album Blonde, fans are (not so) patiently awaiting his follow-up project — so much so that mock missing posters of Ocean have recently gone viral.
I completely understand the anticipation for his next project. His first album, channel ORANGE, is one of my all-time favorites, showcasing Ocean’s incredible vocals, introspective lyrics and unprecedented versatility. He stands out in the R&B scene as forward-thinking and vulnerable, even within a famously emotional genre.
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I worry though that Ocean made it clear he no longer enjoys the music that propelled his career — evident in his 2023 Coachella performance.
Ocean performed an hour late with a bizarre stage set featuring “ice skaters” walking around in circles. While fans praised his vocal performance, uncomfortable silences and an inexplicable 15-minute DJ set convinced concertgoers that Ocean wasn’t enjoying the experience.
There were many explanations provided after the baffling performance, from an onstage ice rink melting last minute, to an alleged ankle injury Ocean suffered earlier that week. But one thing became clear — Ocean performed his first concert in nearly six years at one of the world’s biggest music festivals, and it was a disappointment.
I couldn’t help but view this as a turn away from music, with the artist already exploring different business avenues.
He launched Homer, his luxury jewelry brand, in late 2021 and is set to direct an upcoming movie with A24 — a popular indie film company.
An unfortunate side effect of the music industry is that in an era where music is available with just a few clicks, there’s a growing pressure for artists to release large amounts of content at an alarming rate. Any lapse in this schedule can result in angry fans wondering about the next album drop.
The ongoing “hype culture” surrounding album releases doesn’t aid this problem. Fans will create an idealized version of what they think the album should sound like in their head, and any deviation results in intense backlash.
Thinking back to Lil Uzi Vert’s 2023 album Pink Tape — which fans hyped for three years — the work immediately fell to irrelevance as soon as it failed to live up to expectations.
These sentiments will create a toxic cycle where Ocean’s fans pine for him to release new music, only to inevitably receive intense backlash if it deviates in any way from preconceived expectations.
Unfortunately, many fans further unintentionally view Ocean as a commodity whose output is more important than his humanity. This is eerily similar to how Def Jam, Ocean’s prior record label, treated him, expecting Ocean to keep releasing albums while placing little to no capital on his persona outside of music.
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Ocean’s fanbase touts his $20 million snub of Def Jam as folklore, so I find it ironic they now display many of the same behaviors.
Many people falsely believe that quantity makes a good artist, but think back to Lauryn Hill and her singular studio album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill — a work so adored that it cemented her as a music legend despite never receiving a follow-up. Ocean can forge a similar path, and it’s a testament to his legacy that we still regularly talk about him eight years since his last album.
It’s critical not to have any expectations at this stage of Ocean’s career, and while new music from him would be great, it’s not a necessity. Ocean’s two incredible albums and two other multimedia projects — Endless and Nostalgia, Ultra — are worth sinking teeth into if you miss him. If he retired today, I would be more than satisfied with the work he’s put out.
In 2021, Ocean recorded a spoken-word passage featured on Tyler, The Creator’s “LEMONHEAD.” He briefly rambles about modern art pieces he owns, but ends with how content he is toward his life. To me, this is more impactful than any news about a potential upcoming album.
“I like life. Mine, like, my life,” Ocean said in the passage.
