It’s been 9 years since their last album. There have been so many rumors, leaks, reissues and deepfakes in between that it’s hard to say if we really miss Frank Ocean or, rather, the idea of Frank Ocean. At this point, and after two such high-profile works as ‘Channel Orange’ and ‘Blonde’, it is impossible for his next work to live up to expectations. That is, if he ever comes back.
Do you remember the video of Frank and Rosalía that was leaked more than two years ago? It was called ‘Changes’ and it opened the door to hope for fans of the elusive artist. That seemed very real, but also very old. It is very possible that it belonged to the time of Ocean’s supposed third album, also supposedly titled ‘Look At Us, We’re In Love’. When talking about Frank Ocean, everything is an assumption.
It was rumored that it was going to be released at the end of 2019 along with the singles from ‘DHL’, ‘In My Room’, ‘Dear April’ or ‘Cayendo’. Without a doubt, judging by the design of the singles, there was a real project that was discarded. That is why the American’s craziest fans have been collecting any remnants that may remain of the hypothetical LP over the years. Every once in a while, if you dig deep enough into the Instagram hole, you can find posts that put together this whole collection of snippets and snippets.
Exactly 17 days ago, Frank Ocean himself posted a random comment in a random comments section of one of these compilations, in which he denied practically everything:
– ‘Look At Us We’re In Love’ was not the name of their album, but “an attempt at an early title for my club nights in New York.” This became PrEP+.
– As for the leaks, “many are either generated by AI or holes in my memory.”
– Most are not from 2019 either, since “the oldest works here are from 12 or 13 years ago.”
“Lost sketches with lost collaborators uploaded by impatient people.” Thus, in one fell swoop, Frank denies all the work done by his fans for 6 years. The most legitimate fragment of this stage could come from MMA fighter Payton Talbott, who is rumored to be Ocean’s partner. At least they are friends. It would be strange if he uploaded a fragment of Frank made by AI to his official account, but we can’t even be sure of that anymore. At least it serves to combat the monkey.
The hole that Frank Ocean has left in music has not been easy to fill. The Weeknd and Frank began their careers around the same time, back in 2010. In an alternative universe, the Californian artist could have had the same billion-dollar streams as the Canadian and, in fact, 15 years later and with only two albums released, he is the only one in the genre with whom he could be compared in terms of numbers.
If we talk about innovation and musical quality in the field of R&B, some of the names that come to mind are Dijon, who released their debut in 2021, and Blood Orange, who really began to emerge in 2016 with ‘Freetown Sound’. This year, ‘Baby’ and ‘Essex Honey’, respectively, have proven to be worthy heirs to Ocean’s legacy. Do you think Frank is listening to these projects and thinking that he has left everything in good hands?
What is clear is that Frank’s legend is so broad and so full of mysticism that, regardless of what the music is like, his next project aims to be perceived as a general disappointment. It’s a matter of accumulated hype, and the immense difficulty of living up to it. It’s not that Frank isn’t capable of it, of course, but you have to ask yourself something: Does the public want another Frank Ocean album or a ‘Blonde 2’?
If Ocean opts for more commercial pop, they will say that he is uninspired. If you do something too crazy, listeners will wonder why they’ve been waiting so long for something they don’t understand. What we felt with ‘Channel Orange’ or ‘Blonde’ is unrepeatable, and perhaps he knows it. That’s why Frank’s best option in this regard is to keep doing what he’s doing. Disappear. For our sake, I hope I’m wrong.
