Channel Orange

Bought for a friend,works great

Pretty good gonna play it soon

Frank Ocean has built up ever-growing career from pretty much ground zero, from residing in New Orleans until Hurricane Katrina back in 2005 losing every prized possession he owned and forming a brand new life in California, Frank Ocean has experienced some struggles throughout his life. As the main R&B Crooner from Odd Future, as well as establishing his own name by collaborating with some of today's biggest artists from Kanye West to Beyonce, John Mayer to Justin Bieber; Frank Ocean has quite the resume for a fresh new artist. Frank Ocean's main genre is R&B, however he incorporates sounds from Electro, jazz, gospel, etc. to form a very unique brand of music that is undeniably his own. What makes Frank Ocean so distinct from the saturated market of R&B artists, is his artistic approach to his music. Yes, as an R&B artists he talks about sex and talks about love, the typical norm, however, Frank Ocean as an artist takes R&B to a whole nother level. Frank Ocean is one of very few R&B artists that touches on socioeconomic issues such as religion, philosophy, drugs among other things. As an artist (especially in R&B) Ocean is way ahead of the pack, his innovation in music is way ahead of everybody as of now. In my opinion he may never be as popular in R&B as Trey Songz, Usher or Chris Brown, but artistically Frank Ocean has proven himself to be a true original.If you're a fan of Frank Ocean, you will already have noticed that sonically, Channel Orange is very similar to his debut mixtape Nostalgia, Ultra containing various skits and interludes that often have cultural references mixed in between. Channel Orange is one of those rare albums in the mainstream that lets listeners delved into the artist's psyche, and thankfully Frank Ocean is an interesting person to listen to. Frank Ocean does not succumb to the pressure of making typical "lets make love" songs or "get up and dance", his lyrics are much more poetic and meaningful. The first track "Thinking Bout You" demonstrates some of Frank's storytelling ability; Ocean's lyrics are contain much more substance, filled with double entendres that are neither corny nor cliché. Songs such as "Bad Religion" & "Forrest Gump" contain some of the more personal lyrics from Frank, basically questioning his own existence and the reason to why he is the way he is. Don't get me wrong Frank has his "crooning moment" that are sex driven and about love "Pink Matter feat. Andre 3000", "Sierra Leone" are perfect examples."Super Rich Kids feat. Earl Sweatshirt" and "Sweet Life" addresses social classes and the power of money manipulation (no illuminati reference) "Crack Rocks" and "Pilot Jones" also addresses drug addiction. Now while I may love this album, there are instances where I tend to become bored. The sound at times can become tiresome, the tempo of nearly every song is damn near similar with the exception of tracks "Pyramids" & "Monks". I don't mind as much because there are no songs on the album that sound the same, however there are moments where I wish Frank Ocean could be a little more optimistic on the album. With that being said Frank does not sound emo or anywhere like a b**** when he sings unlike some artists (*cough* Drake) Frank Ocean is a grown man being honest in his music and that is what I appreciate about him the most. The obvious scandal surrounding Frank Ocean as well is his "coming out" party; yes Frank Ocean is bi-sexual, he likes men and women, and it is clearly heard throughout the album which creates an interesting dynamic (to me anyways). Does it bother me? Not one bit; if anything it makes Frank Ocean more respectable as a person, being able to express himself honestly and openly to his fans takes some balls. Channel Orange is probably the most ambitious R&B album 2012 has to offer and should definitely be heard.Top 5 Tracks1) Thinkin Bout You2) Sierra Leone3) Super Rich Kids feat. Earl Sweatshirt4) Pyramids5) Lost

lo amo

Really like it!

Just the week before this album made its first digital release, I was complaining to my friends about how its almost impossible to find NEW quality R&B. That the only way you'd be able to listen to new good songs were if you knew about Frank Ocean, Cocaine 80s, and had Raheem Devaughn's latest mixtape.Right after that Frank Ocean drops this masterpiece and inspires hope in my heart for the future of R&B.Its soulful.The lyrics are romantic.He's a young guy but he's keeping it grown and sexy.His singing ability is phenomenal.The production is of top quality and the beats are very sophisticated.When he wants you to feel love, you will feel it. When he wants you to feel hope, you will feel it. When he wants you to feel dispair, you will feel it. But by the end of it all, you will just feel happy you took this emotional roller coaster.Its been a very long time since you could feel a new R&B artist's heart beat through his music.

When I first heard of Frank Ocean, I mistakenly labeled him as a typical middle class R&B singer, somewhere between Miguel and Trey Songz. After listening to "channel ORANGE", I know that this is not your average R&B artist.At first listen, "channel ORANGE" might catch you off guard. Frank Ocean uses a very different way of telling stories on this album. Each song plays like different scenes from a stage play with Frank Ocean as the narrator, allowing the audience to follow his stories. (Think of the "Trapped In The Closet" series) This album is meant to be followed from beginning to end to get the full story. On the very good into song "Thinkin Bout You", he sounds like a one man music group singing in three different tones. There is an interesting connection between the live standout song "Sweet Life" and the Elton John sampled "Super Rich Kids". The message you will have to hear for yourself. The 10 minute long "Pyramids" starts off real shaky with a techno driven beat. But near the middle it slows down to a slow groove that makes it very listenable. (But not great) He flirts with a lot of different sounds on this album. You can vividly hear hip hop, soul, jazz, rock synthesizers, finger snaps, a John Mayer guitar solo and a Playstation , sometimes all on one song. You can even hear a crowd chant similar to the one on "The Dark Knight Rises" in the background of "Pink Matter".After listening to the first 10 tracks, the word classic came to mind. Then the filer songs come in. "Lost" is kind of weird to me. And "Monks" lost me. His conversation with a taxi driver on "Bad Religion" puts a spin on a relationship, comparing his love to a cup filled with cyanide. (Still a solid track) At times this album is so spacey that sometimes I got lost in the words and couldn't understand the connection. His analogies were confusing to me on "Forrest Gump" and "Sierre Leone". Of course he brings it all back with the excellent Andre 3stacks assisted "Pink Matter". It starts off sounding like an average slow jam until half way through when the beat kicks in and Mr. Benjamin rips off a verse that makes you want to dust off your "Aquemini" CD. Very smooth track.This album is truly original in all kinds of ways. Even though the lyrics and metaphors can be a reach at times. Its impressive that this album is not only critically praised but also selling like hotcakes despite little radio airplay. Very few artists are given the freedom to make the album they want to make. Frank Ocean is unchallenged in his style. The only sound I could compare him too today is Kid Cudi. (He even sounds like him on a couple songs) This is the best, original debut R&B album I heard since Lyfe Jennings. Its interesting that Andre 3000 guest on this album because a lot of this album reminds me of "The Love Below". Some artist are either afraid to or not allowed to take risk. Frank Ocean knows the risk he is taking. This risk is proof that originality is not dead. This originality is what makes this the album of the year. A