By Sarah Chawla, Courier Staff Writer
Frank Ocean’s highly anticipated sophomore album, entitled Blonde, is a more personal and experimental eff
ort than his last one.
The title Blonde is inconsistent with the album art which says “Blond”. Some assume that this is a reference to his bisexuality, since “blond” is the male version and “blonde” is the female version. Others assume that it symbolizes the fact that Frank embodies both masculine and feminine traits.
In addition to the title, the project includes many other dualities, one being his two track lists. Frank released a magazine which contained a different tracklist than the one on Apple Music. There are a few songs that are exclusive to the version they’re on, but most of the songs are the same. Although he hasn’t explicitly stated the reason for this, fans have multiple theories. One fan, Ron Gonzalez Jr. assumes the two versions are dedicated to two separate love interests.
Throughout the project, Frank maintained mystery among his fans and even his collaborators. A keyboardist that worked with Frank, Buddy Ross, spoke on his experience. He said he went to the studio, played his part, and didn’t know what his contribution was going to sound like until the album was released.
Blonde features many artists, most notably Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, and Andre 3000. His collaborators play minimal parts, presumably because Frank wants to manifest his growth from Channel Orange.
Overall, Blonde has a more experimental sound than Frank’s previous album, Channel Orange. While there are many allusions to Channel Orange lyrics, Blonde is much darker. Channel Orange was inspired by his orange tinted experience of falling in love for the first time. Blonde, on the other hand is a more daring, vivid, and raw expression of his comfort as an artist and as a person.
The lack of drums and the heavy presence of guitars gives the album a mellow, hazy sound. Frank was less precise with every detail of each song and created the album with a looser mentality which is reflected in the dreamy instrumentals and the melodious vocals, particularly on the tracks “Nikes” and “Pink + White”.
Storytelling is an important aspect of Ocean’s work. The voicemail from his childhood friend’s mom on “Be Yourself” and the narrative on “Facebook Story” make the album much more personal. Rosie Watson, who spoke on “Be Yourself” was also the voice on “Not Just Money”, which was on Channel Orange. On both tracks, she acts as a motherly figure, giving advice to her audience. The DJ Sebastian Akchoté-Bozovi explains how Frank was recording their conversation for the skit on “Facebook Story”.
Blonde continues to achieve remarkable success for being released independently. With this album, Frank reached his first number one on the Billboard 200 charts. With over 65 million streams in the US and almost two million dollars in sales, Blonde is worth the wait.
