In the voicemail, Ocean’s mother is warning him of the dangers of life away from home. “Be Yourself” is a voicemail from Ocean’s mother, which serves as an interlude. He continues to delve deeper into his past like he did in Ivy, keeping a constant theme throughout the album. Frank’s voice floats all over this beat pleasantly, as he croons about a friend from his childhood passing away. The instrumental is produced by Pharrell, who also produced “Sweet Life” off of Channel Orange, and it’s absolutely majestic.

“Pink+White” is the next song on the LP, and wow. The song ends with a jarring high note from Ocean, fused with auto-tune. Lyrics such as “we’ll never be those kids again,” really taps into the nostalgic feeling that Ocean has expressed so well before in previous tapes. “Nikes” transitions into “Ivy ” a song about growing up and looking back at who you once were. From the high pitched vocals, to the scrambled lyrics, to the unconventional beat, this is definitely not an album as easily accessible as the previous. The cover to “Blonde”, a shirtless Ocean with dyed green hair covering his face with his hand.Īugust 20th, 2016 is a date Frank Ocean fans will remember fondly years from now as the release date for Frank Ocean’s Apple Music exclusive album “Blonde”.īeginning with “Nikes,” an eccentric track that makes a pivotal statement early on: this is not “Channel Orange” (Ocean’s first album).

Channel orange review track by track