R&B singer-songwriter Frank Ocean released his introspective debut album channel ORANGE July 10 to critical acclaim. I found it a dark and compelling work of musical storytelling that will doubtlessly cement his place in the upper echelon of the hip-hop community.
Frank Ocean, real name Christopher Breaux, is relatively new to the hip-hop scene, but his rise has been meteoric. His 2011 mixtape Nostalgia, Ultra garnered him a cult following and rave reviews. More importantly, it impressed the right people, as Jay-Z and Kanye West tapped him to appear on two tracks of the moguls’ mega-collaboration Watch the Throne.
The mixtape demonstrated Ocean’s skill via covers of bands such as The Eagles and Coldplay, but the artist’s new album channel ORANGE takes an entirely different approach. channel ORANGE is a work of pure originality, paying homage to a host of genres — jazz funk, electro-pop, noise, and trance — amid soulful R&B stylings.
As a writer, Ocean is philosophical: a trait he is quick to acknowledge, rhetorically asking listeners, “What do you think my brain is made for?” on the track “Pink Matter,” which also featured rapper Andre 3000.
With the help of visionary cadences and old-school smooth vocals, channel ORANGE weaves tricky lyrical webs of ambitious proportions. The album’s lyrics fittingly reflect the songs’ hazy quality. Meandering lyrics on the vast subjects of religion, space, oblivion and love dominate the album.
“Pyramids,” the album’s second single, underscores Ocean’s fascination with psychedelic imagery and sounds. The almost 10-minute-long track compares the glamour of Cleopatra’s reign atop the ancient pyramids to the bleak experience of a girl working at ‘The Pyramid,’ which is presumably a strip club. It’s a testament to his storytelling ability that Ocean does not stumble once in the lengthy effort.
Ocean’s ability to take listeners on such vividly abstract journeys is fitting for a man who has many stories to tell. The singer’s real-life actions broke new ground in hip-hop when he revealed his bisexuality on an online blog. The disclosure was a landmark announcement in a hip-hop community notorious for its widespread animosity toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer communities. Ocean, however, received praise and support from major artists, including West and Jay-Z. In light of his revelation, songs like “Bad Religion” and the album’s first single “Thinking Bout You” gain additional significance, as they echo Ocean’s own struggle between ‘this unrequited love’ and faith.
channel ORANGE also addresses less personal issues. The album looks behind the garish curtains of modern hip-hop’s obsession with women, clubs and drugs to explore how and why hip-hop culture has become what it is today. The song “Lost” initially repeats the crude clichés of many contemporary rap songs, but here the objectified woman becomes a mother, a victim and then simply a ‘love lost.’
The album peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 — and deservedly so, for an album packed with songs so truthfully and soulfully sung. Expect to hear more about Ocean’s musical gifts and less about his sexual orientation when his next album drops.
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