Blonde is Frank Ocean's third major album released independently, under his own label: Boys Don't Cry
It was released a day after his 2nd album, on August 20th, 2016.
This was the real, big album that everyone was waiting for. So far in Ocean's career, this is definitley his magnum opus.
Every move that had lead up to the release of this album was done flawlessly.
Before I discuss the album, I want to put it in context of the time it was released.
Between 2012 and 2016, Ocean had completely disappeared from the public eye.
In turn, the hype and excitement for new music from Ocean had been at an all time high.
Nobody, not even his close friends, knew what his plans were.
When the mysterious live stream of Endless had showed on his website, no one knew that it wasn't even the real, stand-out album.
If you think about Ocean and his record label as players in a chess game, the release of Endless was Frank Ocean's winning move.
By releasing Endless, he finished his contract with Def Jam and was now an officially an independent artist.
This album encapsulates everything that is Frank Ocean so perfectly.
It is extremely intimate, forward-thinking, and fresh.
He lays a lot of his truths to the world with this album.
In contrast to all of his previous releases, the majority of this album has no drums.
Each song has Frank's voice accompanied by a piano or a few guitars.
It makes the listener focus on his voice. It makes you hear every little detail in his tone and delivery.
In turn, it makes the listener feel captured by his ideas and lyrics.
My favorite songs: Self Control, Nights, And White Ferrari
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Boys Don't Cry (Magazine)
| Los Angeles | New York | Chicago | London |
|---|---|---|---|
| 716 N Fairfax Ave | 188 Mulberry St | 860 Chicago Ave | 66 Charlotte Street |
| Los Angeles, CA 90046 | New York, NY 10012 | Evanston, IL 60202 | London WIT 4QE |
Alongside the releae of the album, Ocean also released a magazine. The table above shows the locations of surprise pop up shops from around the world.
This magazine captures Ocean's life from 2012 to 2016, which was the time when he disappeared from the public.
It was a huge, 360 page magazine with thick pages. It also contained a CD copy of Blonde.
The content of the magazine ranges to a variety of random photos: Frank's closest friends, other celebrities, daily life activites, laptop screenshots, etc...