After three years of false album releases, and continuous over streaming of Channel Orange, Frank Ocean has released his second studio album, Blonde, along with a visual album titled Endless. The anticipation of new music from Ocean began in 2013 and soon became bigger and more known this summer where he had a continuous stream of himself building a staircase. The stream mainly was used to release his visual album but early Saturday he released a music video to Nikes, following up with his much anticipated album, Blonde. The album that has truly been crafted to perfection and has got through several drafts before the finalized album was released. Different artists such at Beyonce, Andre 3000, and even Yung Lean got together to help Ocean create a masterpiece.

Blonde kicks off with his single Nikes that was released with a stunning visual and references to dead icons such as A$AP Yams, Pimp C and Trayvon Martin. The first songs are two ballads that start the album off strongly with Pharell producing Pink + White to compliment Beyonce, and Ocean’s vocals while Ivy is a an ode to all his mistakes and overcoming them. Solo and Solo reprise are rap heavy songs that serve as interludes to the rest of the album along with the two spoken words “Be Yourself” and “Facebook Story”.

The album is distinctly split into two sections where Ocean uses his storytelling to create a little world of teenage angst and rebellion with the songs “White Ferrari”, “Seigfreid” and “Close to you”. The album as a whole is drastically different from his previous work “Nostalgia, Ultra” and “Channel Orange” because the two projects focus on the eclectic aspects on life and how he sees it, while “Blonde” picks apart the fleeting moments of life.

All in all the album is compiled with stand alone gems that are very evident of the work that Ocean put into crafting it. He successfully created a soulful and timeless album that can relate at what ever time period it is listened at just like his previous projects.

Rating: 9.5/10