On вЂњIvy,вЂќ Ocean laments, вЂњWe didnвЂ™t give a fuck back then / I ainвЂ™t a kid no more / WeвЂ™ll never be those kids again.вЂќ On each song, Ocean finds a way to create this sense of nostalgia and the music almost encourages the listener to connect this with their own lives. Lyrics such as, вЂњWish I was there, wish weвЂ™d grown up on the same advice / And our time was right,вЂќ on вЂњSelf ControlвЂќ show a sense of yearning for the past, or the ability to change things that have long passed. This isnвЂ™t the first time that Ocean has explored the idea of nostalgia (given that his first mixtape was named вЂњnostalgia, ULTRAвЂќ). On вЂњBlonde,вЂќ Ocean somehow managed to capture the sound of nostalgia.

This experimentation with alternative and lo-fi genres was something that Ocean had introduced on his visual album вЂњEndlessвЂќ on tracks such as вЂњWitherвЂќ and вЂњHiggs.вЂќ This sort of sonic blending of styles is further highlighted in the production and writing credits of вЂњBlonde,вЂќ featuring writing credits to hip-hop staples such as Kanye West, Tyler, the Creator and Pharrell Williams writing credits to one of indie musicвЂ™s pioneering figures, Elliott Smith and production credits to a giant of alternative music, James Blake. вЂњBlondeвЂќ serves as the sonic meshing of the two styles found on вЂњChannel OrangeвЂќ and вЂњEndless.вЂќ The mainstream R&B that Ocean produced on вЂњChannel OrangeвЂќ is replaced by a sound more akin to what is now termed alternative R&B. Now an urban legend within hip-hop head communities, Ocean had at one point been famously signed with Def Jam Recordings and legally bound to produce one more album after his debut record вЂњchannel ORANGE.вЂќ A cryptic livestream-like video of Ocean constructing a performance set precluded the release of his visual album, вЂњEndless.вЂќ The album was released exclusively on Apple Music and fulfilled his contractual obligations to Def Jam, such that Ocean freely dropped вЂњBlondeвЂќ on the following day - Aug. Ocean released вЂњBlondeвЂќ with a similar attitude of boundary breaking as the album itself.

Blonde frank ocean album credits