Frank Ocean… Where is he at?
Frank Ocean is a world-renowned artist who is known by so many for his amazing lyrics, musicality, and production. Frank Ocean has won two Grammys, both in 2013, and chose not to submit his album, Blonde, for consideration at the 2017 Grammy Awards; this choice was in protest to the Grammys, given that he believes they do not accurately represent the black community. Fans of Frank Ocean on TikTok often make posts saying “Frank Ocean is dropping”, or “New Frank?”, even to go as far as saying “Frank is officially coming out of retirement”. These comments can stem from something as small as him posting on his Instagram story.
Frank Ocean has been in what some people are calling a hiatus, and others call retirement, for close to 7 years now, following his 2019 release of the single “In My Room”. His fans are starving for new music.
I interviewed students Jenna Lobsinger, Marcus Estrallado, Logan Henkel, Khloe Spano, and Landen Bieri. I asked each of them their top 5 favorite songs, and which lyric they relate with the most and why, OR their favorite lyric if they don’t necessarily relate to any of them.
Up first, senior, Jenna Lobsinger. I asked her what her top 5 favorite songs are, and she was ready to go with them fresh in her head. The list was: “Hero”, the only song off of the release Three Artists. One Song, “Seigfried”, track #15 off of Blonde, “PDA” an unreleased song by Frank, “DHL”, a single released in 2019, and “Crack Rock”, track #9 off of channel ORANGE. Jenna gave this artist review series its first unreleased song. Some artists find the streaming of their unreleased or leaked songs very rude, as they haven’t released the song themselves yet, and someone went out of their way to find it or even fabricate it. When I asked Jenna what lyric of Frank’s she relates to the most and why, she answered with, “You don’t know how little you matter till you’re all alone”. Jenna didn’t even give an explanation for this lyric; She told me that the lyric spoke for itself, and anyone who needed an explanation simply “isn’t hearing him right…” I appreciate Jenna’s raw answer to this question, and her trust in Frank Ocean’s lyricism.
My next interview was with senior, Marcus Estrallado. When I asked him what his top 5 favorite songs were, he answered with(no particular order): “Futura Free”, track #17 off of Blonde, “Seigfried”, track #15 off of Blonde, “DHL”, a single released in 2019, “Nikes”, track #1 off of Blonde, and “Crack Rock”, track #9 off of channel ORANGE. When I asked Marcus which lyric of Frank’s was the most relatablele or his favorite, he told me “I’m not him, but I’ll mean something to you”, because “To be honest, it just resonates with me on a spritual level, like it doesn’t personally connect me in the sense that it’s relatable, but I feel like sonically it encapsulates the idea of ‘I’m not the person you wanted me to be but I’ll step up’”. Marcus easily takes the cake for the most thorough and precise answer to this question ever!! Marcus spoke to a very personal line that seems to speak to him on a deeper level than what I would’ve expected. Great answers from Marcus!!
Third in line, senior, Logan Henkel. His top 5 songs consisted of, “White”, a song by Odd Future that features Frank Ocean, off the album The OF Tape Vol 2, “White Ferrari”, track #14 off of Blonde, “Novacane”, a very popular single released in 2011, “Thinkin Bout You”, track #2 off of channel ORANGE, and “Crack Rock”, track #9 off of channel ORANGE. Logan gave me some good answers, bringing in some similar songs. When I asked Logan what his favorite lyric was by Frank, he told me, “A tornado flew around my room”, from the song “Thinkin Bout You”, because “It was the first song I ever heard by him, and I always go back and listen to that song.” Logan’s response is something that is almost universal; All of us have that one song that we first listened to a long time ago that really sticks with you, and gives you that nostalgic feeling when you go back and listen to it.
Fourth up was Freshman, Khloe Spano. Khloe was asked what her top 3 songs were by Frank Ocean, and she answered with: “White Ferrari”, track #14 off of Blonde, “Lost”, track #11 off of channel ORANGE, and “Thinkin Bout You”, track #2 off channel ORANGE. I also asked Khloe what her favorite lyric was from all of Frank Ocean’s discography, and she answered with “We’ll never be those kids again”, because “I guess to me everything is more complex when you’re older compared to when your younger”. I really liked Khloe’s response, and I think that I, along with many others, could find the truth behind her answer.
Last but not least, senior, Landen Bieri. I asked Landen what his top 5 songs were, and he answered with, “Ivy”, track #2 off of Blonde, “Bad Religion”, track #14 off of channel ORANGE, “Seighfried”, track #15 off of Blonde, “In my room”, a single released in 2019, and “Nikes”, track #1 off of Blonde. I also asked Landen which lyric of Frank’s was his favorite, and he answered with, “If you could see my thoughts, you would see my faces”, because “I might…still be thinking about my ex…” Landen gave us an almost secret response to this question, but that’s okay, a little gossip never hurt anybody…Right?
Some of the more popular songs among the 5 students I interviewed were “Nikes”, “Crack Rock”, “Thinkin Bout You”, and “Seigfried”. Each of these songs had 2 or more top placements, giving them some real spotlight among all the songs listed.
It was great to interview these students, but who should we interview next, and about which artist?
