Don't freak out but Frank Ocean's new album is finally here
Frank Ocean has finally stopped toying with our emotions. After four long years and many delays, the enigmatic singer has given the clamoring masses not one, but two new albums.
His second studio effort Blond was released Saturday on Apple Music, following a surprise 45-minute visual album Endless that debuted on the streaming service late Thursday.
The album, coming in at more than one hour in length, features top-notch collaborators including Beyoncé, Kanye West, James Blake and Jamie xx.
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For some reason, the album is called Blonde not Blond on Apple Music. It could be an auto-correct error, or it could be Ocean playing with your mind.
In bad news for Spotify subscribers, Blond also appears to be an Apple Music exclusive, at least for the moment. Apple has been contacted by Mashable for the details.
The new 17-track album album is the much anticipated follow-up to Ocean's powerful 2012 debut, Channel Orange. That album won the singer best urban contemporary album at the 2012 Grammy Awards, but Ocean went relatively quiet in the years following, with rumours of a second album bubbling to the surface periodically, sending the internet into a tailspin.
On his Tumblr, the singer posted a thank you note to his fans that recognised the lengthy wait. "I had the time of my life making all of this. Thank you all," he wrote. "Especially those of you who never let me forget I had to finish. Which is basically every one of ya'll. Haha. Love you."
Ocean also released a video for Blond's first single "Nikes" earlier Saturday. The compelling video features a tribute to Trayvon Martin and a rapping Chihuahua, along with plenty of glitter.
Ocean's album site boysdontcry.co advertised pop-up stores to accompany the album release in Los Angeles, New York, London, and Chicago. Fans lucky enough to be in one of those four cities Saturday posted images of a glossy magazine made to accompany the album, complete with track listing, a collaborators list and a CD.
Watch out for Mashable's review of Ocean's sophomore effort Monday, but the early social media reactions are in, and they are good.
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Ariel Bogle was an associate editor with Mashable in Australia covering technology. Previously, Ariel was associate editor at Future Tense in Washington DC, an editorial initiative between Slate and New America.
