"Super Rich Kids" (Featuring Earl Sweatshirt)*Īnother juxtaposition of luxury and love. Ocean knows his good fortune but not exactly how to spend it - a perfect transition to "Super Rich Kids." In a play on his own name, Ocean asks why she needs the world when she already "has the beach." Though he lives the "sweet life," Ocean's money can't replace the happiness of being close to someone.Īnother interlude, this one about Ocean's feeling toward his newfound green: More than a ticket to a luxurious lifestyle, it's a comfort from the hassle of living paycheck-to-paycheck. He looks forward to a "new day that will bring about the dawn." Not unlike on Kanye West's own Sierra Leon track, personal relationships prove more important than wealth.Ī Marvin Gaye-inspired story about a privileged uptown girl. Ocean finds a woman and compares their relationship to the beauty and pain of Sierra Leone, home to diamonds and a civil war. But the sorrow in his voice and the painful laugh track tell us he's not having much luck.
Over what sounds like a 1950s radio program and matching static, Ocean begs his love not to treat him like the titular bullshit. It was originally a reference song for Bridget Kelly, but Ocean's version proves more than good enough for its own mastering.Ī short interlude that opens up the darker themes on the album. He leaves a girl, then hopes she's thinking of him. Ocean's life is a lot like a video game: He tries to steer the outcome, but he's limited to a certain set of controls.Ī classic R&B love song and direct descendent of Nostalgia, Ultra. The tuning of the titular "channel," with sounds of the city, a television, and a video game framing what's to come. And since you're probably going to be hearing more about it, anyway, Rap Genius, the Internet's most intelligent repository of hip-hop lyrical analysis, has provided us with some track-by-track liner notes on the meanings contained therein. It's also likely to please fans of Ocean's mixtape, Nostalgia, Ultra, while appealing more broadly to hip-hop, R&B, and pop audiences. The record represents a startlingly complex, dark, and emotional journey that could easily fit into any number of "Best of" lists, even in July. But a certain recent announcement has given it a whole lot more attention.
Some people had already been anticipating Frank Ocean's debut album, Channel Orange (released this week ahead of schedule, and which you can stream here), for several years now.
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