He’s also gives off a cultural/political awareness, like in “Super Rich Kids” when he speaks of economic inequality in a scathing and humorous way: “The maid comes around too much / Parents ain’t around enough / Too many joy rides in daddy’s jaguar / Too many white lies – and white lines”. He’s somewhat a lyrical virtuoso in how he employs literary devices and details his songs through emotional confessionals. Instead of asserting sexuality and themes of misogyny and ‘club life’ (or what have you) as many of his contemporaries are wont to do, Ocean presents us with themes of unrequited love and class disparity (“Super Rich Kids”). Channel Orange, on the other hand, is far more focused, inventive, and sounds like the work of an artist in their prime, even if it’s only Ocean’s first proper LP. This time, Ocean is creating something he can call his own.Ĭomparatively, Nostalgia, Ultra played it a little safe, lifting samples from other artists to yield a new aesthetic meaning (“Strawberry Swing,” “Nature Feels"). On Channel Orange, his first major label debut, Ocean finds the perfect dichotomy between experimentation and accessibility, making it seem like the logical progression from 2011’s Nostalgia, Ultra, an album whose best songs borrowed from other established artists. I know, many have all but exhausted such sentiments, but Ocean’s brand of R&B warrants such unified hyperbole. Moreover, it’s fascinating to think of how accomplished Ocean already is at the young age of 24, and as daringly bold as it may sound, he seems destined to be one of the genre’s saving graces. It’s surprising, then, that the visionary of the group would be working in the realm of R&B, a genre that, aside from Abel Tesfaye, hasn’t seen much innovation for quite some time. For the most part they sound as you’d expect: young, amateurish hip-hoppers - Tyler, The Creator being the most juvenile and naive of the lot. I mean no offence to fans of said collective, but I haven’t found anything particularly worthy of note from its members. It’s difficult for me to imagine Frank Ocean being in any way associated with the Odd Future collective. Review Summary: Firmly cements Frank Ocean's position as far and away the most talented member of the Odd Future collective.
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