Frank Ocean "Channel Orange" (2012)
Frank was studying at the University of New Orleans and working on his
songwriting when Hurricane Katrina destroyed his home and recording
setup. He moved to Los Angeles, worked a number of jobs and established
himself as a songwriter, writing for artists like John Legend and
Justin Bieber.
After a run as part of a hip-hop collective, and a songwriting gig with
Def Jam records, Frank self-released a mix-tape of him singing over
other artists' songs. The release blew up and Def Jam worked with Frank
to release an album of his own material.
"Channel Orange" features collaborations with John Mayer, Andre 3000 and
Pharrell Williams. The book makes comparisons to Stevie Wonder and
Prince, and those seem apt. He has that 'soul mixed with good
songwriting and embracing of technology' of Stevie, and the funk and
sexuality of Prince.
"Crack Rock" "Bad Religion" and "Pink Matter" were my favourites. "Bad Religion" in particular feels like it blends the Prince/Wonder influences perfectly.
In the album Ocean told of his unrequited love of a young man when he
was in his teens which, given the more than occasional homophobia found
in hip-hop, was a pretty damned brave thing to do. It would have been
worthy of inclusion in the list just for that, but the music earns its place too.
