So Frank Ocean's Blonde.
Last time Frank Ocean dropped an album I wore boat shoes and pretended to like Scotch.
Now I only wear sneakers and drink Henny & Cranberry in very white establishments. Time has passed.
Mad dudes are gonna shy away from this cuz Frank's gay and by some weird magic this album will make them gay too. But here's the thing, gay people make a lot of dope shit. Like donations to Scientology.
Besides Frank is great at being ambiguous in lyrics so it's not really noticeable. The only times I noticed is I'd get caught off guard and then be like "Oh yea he fucks dudes", then move on.
Anyway into the critique.
In this Blonde Frank is selfish and miserable. He does what he wants whenever he wants at the cost of other people. He doesn't want to hurt them or lead them on but it's hard cuz he can go anywhere and fuck literally anybody...but he lacks purpose. With that lack of purpose comes a lot of stress
He's like if Oberyn Martell never had beef with the Lannisters just Aimless with no direction.
It's weird, he's extremely vulnerable and open but it's like he uses that as excuse to be distant. "Hey you you know my deepest secrets, we don't have to talk every day fam"
He touches on a lot of themes, like modern love, police brutality of bone density. He's free to talk about whatever is on his mind and it's great.
There's a good Andre 3000 verse on this album. Like most 3 stacks verses it damn near steals the show. However at this point Andre 3k has been teasing us with the idea of a solo rap album for years so it's kinda like "we get it bro you're good at rapping". It's like when a comic doesn't get on stage enough but their FB is consistently hilarious. It's only satisfying to a point.
Aesthetically this album sets a mood. It's a little broody but oddly hopeful. It's a good album to listen to when your hungover and alone on the day your direct deposit hits.
I can see why people wouldn't like it, but I don't understand. This album was great, it was daring, it was vulnerable and I've listened to it on repeat. I don't buy music like I used to but this was a great purchase.
I give this 8 out of the 9 dollars that I spent to buy it.