Studying Frank Ocean's Nostalgia, Ultra and His Comeup
Find out how Frank Ocean went from an introverted songwriter to the most in-demand artist of the century.
Frank Ocean was born Christopher Edwin Breaux. Whether you call him Mr Ocean or the king of sadboy music, the legacy Ocean has carved out in the past few years is unmatched.
Ocean’s road to success wasn’t linear in the slightest, he was a prolific songwriter years before breaking into the mainstream. Ocean began making music in 2005 in his hometown of New Orleans.
Unfortunately, due to Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, his house and personal recording equipment were destroyed. In 2006, Ocean worked many fast-food jobs to make ends meet.
While working, Ocean was still penning songs and eventually landed a songwriting deal. Ocean wrote and ghost-wrote for the likes of; Justin Bieber, Brandy, Connor Maynard, John Legend and Beyoncé.
In 2009, Ocean joined with a then up and coming hip hop collective called Odd Future. The group was spearheaded by Tyler, The Creator. Paired with Ocean's songwriting deal and his Odd Future connection, it enabled him to sign a major label deal.
Ocean and Earl Sweatshirt were among the few early Odd Future acts not to sign with their in-house label. Ocean and Sweatshirt signed to Columbia and Def Jam respectively. Ocean is also an accomplished rapper. He's contributing show-stealing verses to songs like Odd Future’s ‘Oldie’ and A$AP Mob’s ‘RAF’.
On February 16, 2011, Ocean released his debut mixtape ‘Nostalgia, Ultra’. The project garnered immediate critical acclaim and was adored by R&B heads. Nostalgia, Ultra was instrumental in laying the groundwork for Ocean's now impenetrable fanbase.
The mixtape has been described as 'Avante-Garde R&B' with Ocean applying hip hop and indie-tinged sensibilities to the R&B genre. Nostalgia, Ultra was fundamental to developing R&B past the bright, crunk and fitted cap-laden 2000s into the more sophisticated and moody 2010s.
Songs like 'Swim Good' are reminiscent of Kanye West's beats on his '808's and Heartbreak' album. Lyrically, Swim Good sees Ocean grapple with his emotions. Frank metaphorically "drives into the ocean" and bathes in his emotions.
The album also features more playful songs like 'Songs for Women'. In the song Ocean boats to a female about his talents in direct comparison to his peers. Ocean sings;
“But she be banging that Drake in my car / I’m So Far Gone / She stay blasting Trey and his songs / All damn day long / It’s like she never heard of me, heard of me”
Ocean's art direction, themes and personality are fully shown on the mixtape. Nostalgia, Ultra's interludes are named after video games like 'Metal Gear Solid', 'Street Fighter' and 'Soul Calibur'. Also, the cover art is reflective of Ocean's love of cars with an Orange 1980s BMW E30 M3 front and centre.
The success of his mixtape led him to work with Jay-Z and Kanye West on their 2011 collaborative album ‘Watch the Throne’ where Ocean landed on two tracks. Ocean's placement on the successful 'No Chruch in the Wild' single was great exposure to new listeners.
Ocean’s discography consists of his debut album ‘Chanel Orange’, his commercial debut from 2012. Ocean took a four-year hiatus and returned with his multi-million-dollar label finesse video album ‘Endless’.
A day after Endless's release, Ocean dropped his sophomore magnum opus ‘Blonde’ on August 20, 2016. Fan-made projects are also a huge part of Ocean’s discography with many of his old reference tracks and leftovers making it on to the likes of ‘Untitled, Misc’ and ‘The Lonny Breaux Collection’.
Frank Ocean maintains a relatively low profile, rarely doing interviews with his Instagram account private until recently. Frank’s reclusive nature adds to his character meaning any live performance or public sightings cause a frenzy.
In 2012, Ocean wrote an open letter where he revealed he was in fact bisexual. Many people across the celebrity stratosphere voiced support for Ocean. Ocean's move to come out as bisexual was key to the rap and black community. Hip hop has had a controversial battle with homosexuality and masculinity since it's inception.
Ocean coming out signalled a changing of the guard in mainstream and paved the way for acts like Kevin Abstract and Lil Nas X who followed in his footsteps.
Download the Nostalgia, Ultra mixtape on MixtapeMonkey. Also, stream Frank Ocean on Spotify and Apple Music here.
