New Orleans-born, Beverly Hills resident Frank Ocean is the bubbling under artist-of-the-moment, who seems to be on a meteoric rise to the big leagues. The 23-year-old affiliate of controversial rap collective Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All (OFWGKTA) or Odd Future for short, has most recently penned a track for Beyonce (‘I Miss You’), and logged in studio time with hip-hop legend Nas and producer Pharrell Williams. The Def Jam artist is even hinting towards collaborations with Jay-Z and Kanye West.
Ocean is also an accomplished songwriter. By the name of Christopher “Lonny” Breaux, he boasts credits in releases from Brandy (‘Human’), Justin Bieber (‘My World’), and John Legend (‘Revolver’). This talent led him to a deal with Island Def Jam over a year ago. There, Ocean completed his album nostalgia, ULTRA. The album shines on the basis of Frank’s knack for story telling, which is almost poetic at times, laid over tracks from left-leaning pop acts and certified rockers like Coldplay, Mr. Hudson, MGMT, and The Eagles, all presented with Brandy-esque vocal arrangments, and backing vocals.
Yet, the album along with Frank went ignored by the company for what he alleges to be a full year. On Feb 16, the singer took matters into his own hands, releasing the LP as a free download via his tumblr as sort of a middle finger to the company. The results were nothing short of epic. nostalgia, ULTRA has received overwelmingly positive reviews from critics and some of the industries biggiest names (see above). Ocean, along with the Drake-approved The Weeknd, have been called the “new wave of R&B”. Even Chris Brown’s mini-beef sparking comment, was nothing more than a misconstrued compliment on Ocean’s artistry.
Now Def Jam is trying to make things right. Frank Ocean’s debut will be officially released as a shortened EP, nostalgia, LITE, on July 26. You can check out the full, free version here.
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I love Frank Ocean!! He’s a freakin beast..his music is effortless!! The fact that he’s worked with my fav sanger Brandy is icing on the cake!! Cant wait to hear what else he’s cooked up in the lab!!
He also wrote and produced my favorite song on ‘4’…I Miss You. His mixtape is the truth and I hope @Kavion has listened to him!
Its only now that ‘Thatgrapejuice’ have discovered Frank Ocean… lololol…
I’ve bin rinsin this guys mixtape for ages now..- Hes also worked with Brandy- and they have dueted on ‘ Nature Feels’ which I think will be on his album July 26. Fukin Love them both.. and Frank is definitelty on the rise.
I HATE RECORD LABEL !!!! yesss i said it
neyo is about to drop a new cd and he ignored all of his artists on his label : FDM,and the girl who were on american idol
RITA ORA dunno why she’s sign on roc nation she seems to only model and never sing
adrienne BAILON??? tifanny evans? KARINA PASIAN?? …
THIS INDUSTRY IS SOOOO STRANGE DEF JAM CAN PROMOTE THE HELL OF JLO BUT IGNORES FRANK OCEAN?? AND KARINA??
This guy is cool Follow me on Twitter! – http://adf.ly/1IF2E
First let me say if Frank Ocean every dream about f****** with CB again I will personally smack the taste out of his mouth.Second truth be told Frank Ocean is the s*** love his music.
I hope he goes big. He’s really talented.
Thanks for shining some light on Ocean, but y’all are about 4-5 months late.
They scare me with their music as a group
I MISS U IS THE S***
YOU GUYS ARE LAAAAAAAAATE !!! SMH
Check out the weeknd too !!
He thinks he is way too cool. Not a fan and will never be. I hoped to like him because he was from NO, but he’s an arrogant f*** like the rest of them.
i’m already not a fan of this jerk
Well written article, keep em’ coming! I love Frank Ocean, & new artist in general. It’s good to see some positivity on this website, or just unbiased for that matter. Instead of the constant bashing/negativity… I would love to see more frequent features on new artist!
Oh Sam, this is soooo unwise..!!
X,Y,”and Z”
just discovered frank ocean about a week ago. his album is still on repeat!
frank ocean is that n**** nuff said
I have a prediction for tonight’s BET Awards show..
30-something-year-old Kelly Rowland will FALL ONSTAGE; much like Rihanna just did while performing onstage while in Edmonton, Canada.
@My BELOVED TeamBreezy FAMILY —
DON’T post comments on That Grape Juice! As a matter of a fact, don’t watch the BET Awards on THIS Blog!
Oh, Sam — this is such an unwise choice. Sam, you JUST f*****-up YOUR money. Do you REALLY think this is the only blog TeamBreezy can post comments on? Sam, it’s make-or-break time for TGJ with your Blog’s new look/rollout.
Sam, it was kool while it lasted – now no matter how much Beyonce vs Gaga posts you have, you’ll NOW see a drop-off in hits/visitors..
X,Y,”and Z” — OUT..!!
@BREEZYTHEBEST
shut your b**** ass up you’re just mad cuz frank made your fav look like a sucka. STAY MAD H**!
if u like my honey frank, like the weeknd u will like jamie woon too. its just hes not black and from london. =} http://youtu.be/BvsfGhEqnXE
HUMMM…YEAH?! O__0
I’m not really feeling him! I listened to the above songs and he sounds like Jodice, Bobby V, etc. He just blends into the R&B landscape. If the right ppl are behind him, he will have some success. It will be based on how much media hype he has and DEFScams WHODINI-ESQU marketing team (see RAGGEDY RihANNa for details)!
*YAWN*
@Speechless
June 26, 2011 at 4:53 pm
@BREEZYTHEBEST
shut your b**** ass up you’re just mad cuz frank made your fav look like a sucka. STAY MAD H**!
**************************
NO YOU SHUT YOUR B*TCH AS* UP! This nobody needs to pull shine from another artists to get a buzz? WTF is that about? A true talent shines regardless of b*******! F*CK FAKE OCEAN!
Can’t wait to see Chris Brown take center stage in a few hours! You and this fake weak arrogant p**** can sit and watch as he “stacks them and shines”! BYE
STAY MAD ABOUT WHAT THIS FOOL?….LOL 🙂
I loooooove this dude! Yeah his music and image are dark, but his genius cannot be ignored. He’s an amazing songwriter and his voice is good too. I LOVE his arrangements, they’re incredible! And his mixtape? The BIZ-NESS!
TGJ may be late, but I’m glad they’re addressing this super talented dude. It is a shame that people only know him now cuz of the CB beef. Dude has been doing his thing for a while now! And he gets a load of points for being from New Orleans!
broken link….please post it again with a valid one. thanks in advance
Damn, I am so out of the loop. I’ve heard about the dude for MONTHS now, but never took the time to listen to his music. I really need to catch up on things.
@ X, Y, Z:
If this makes you leave this blog for good, then more power to Sam.
@Speechless, On no level did I ask for commentary on my comment do what you do best and remain Speechless or put a d*** in your mouth h**,Breezythebest b****.
@MOBWIFE ,thanks babe.
@BreezytheBest
LOL *WINK* I got you!! 🙂
@Mobwife newsflash fool, he’s been getting shine. Check his writing credits. Frank made one comment and it was CB who went all out. If Frank was trying trying to get shine, he would’ve kept responding to Chris, which he didn’t. His mixtape shits all over CB’s albums. He actually sings and has music with substance. Not like CB who lip syncs on stage, uses autotune on most of his songs, does the same dance routine, and sings about the same stuff. Btw Jodici, Bobby V. are great R&B musicians. If that was your attempt at insulting Frank Ocean, it was a fail. Frank has already worked with the best in the game. Mad? Stay mad?
Bout a thousand years late, but, OK.
@duh
Shut the f*** up because it was Chris who actually gave dude a compliment and his cocky ass couldn’t simply accept a compliment. Yeah he nice but not that nice to be that arogant. And never talk about CB’s talent. Jump off a cliff.
TAKE THE FADE N****!
Seriously folks… It is so funny to me how quickly people judge others that they know nothing about.. What we have here is an EXTREMELY talented young man who is doing his own thing despite the road blocks placed before him. Come out of your miserable shells and learn to just be happy for these kids, whether you like their music or not! Btw, Frank Ocean is one of the nicest people I know… what you see is confidence laced with small amounts of arrogance.. the perfect mix for success. Have an incredibly blessed day people. Especially Aunt Jackie…
The songs are great. I love the sounds he produces. His voice isn’t the best, but it’s still good.
YA’LL ARE LATE AS HELL SMH LATE LATE LATE “INTRODUCING” MY ASS BEEN LOVED FRANK OCEAN COME ON “THAT GRAPE JUICE” SUPPOSE TO BE ON IT.
yes FRANK is one of the BEST upcoming TALENTS in R&B and the he can SANG!!!!!!! TALENT cant wati to hear what else he has bcause that mixtape is BLAZIN!
Hmm is a thank you card in order for CB? Man got hella lot a shine last week
one of the most talented guys out there
Duh
June 26, 2011 at 9:51 pm
@Mobwife newsflash fool, he’s been getting shine. Check his writing credits. Frank made one comment and it was CB who went all out. If Frank was trying trying to get shine, he would’ve kept responding to Chris, which he didn’t. His mixtape shits all over CB’s albums. He actually sings and has music with substance. Not like CB who lip syncs on stage, uses autotune on most of his songs, does the same dance routine, and sings about the same stuff. Btw Jodici, Bobby V. are great R&B musicians. If that was your attempt at insulting Frank Ocean, it was a fail. Frank has already worked with the best in the game. Mad? Stay mad?
————————————————————————————————-
B**** SIT ALL THE WAY THE F*** DOWN! I can tell you aren’t even real fan of Frank cause you made your whole comment about Chirs! You just wanted to come in here & shade Chris cause you dont’ like! You just like Frank are a f****** FAIL!
Frank mad himself look like an ASS because Chris was just giving his irrelevant ass a compliment! Chris compared him to two GRAMMY nominated singer/songwriters who have awards & hits to their name, UNLIKE Frank! How could Frank not see that was a compliment! Frank just wanted to be a b**** like his friend Tyler & throw shade at CB cause he is jealous of Chris & all his success!
What does Frank have? A f****** mixtape & a lil buzz cause of twitter! Child boo! He might as well stay behind the scenes & continue to write for other artist cause he will probably NEVER be as successful as Chris!
When you are on the come up and yet to release a damn album you STAY IN YOUR F****** LANE! You don’t throw shade at a artist who being respectful to you first!!
If Frank was so great, why has it taken him soooo long to get any recognition?! The fact of the matter is CHRIS is younger than him & he one with the platinum albums, platinum singles, sold out shows, countless awards, Grammy Nominations, performed on talk & morning shows, starring in films! CB’s 6 year career shits all over Franks behind the scenes ass!
Talk to me when Frank sell out his own show!
Talk to me when Frank gets multiple platinum albums!
Talk to me when Frank gets platinum singles!
Talk to me when Frank gets on the charts!
His mixtape shits on all of CB’s albums? Really?! LMAO! Ok then, we’ll see if Franks gets any Grammy nominations off his mixtape like CB did! I doubt it! LMAO
noodles
June 26, 2011 at 10:26 pm
@duh
Shut the f*** up because it was Chris who actually gave dude a compliment and his cocky ass couldn’t simply accept a compliment. Yeah he nice but not that nice to be that arogant. And never talk about CB’s talent. Jump off a cliff.
TAKE THE FADE N****!
—————————————————————————————
LMAO!! I still can’t believe Trell & Mijo did that! Chile….
Anywho, Frank is talented songwriter, I don’t really think his voice is anything to spectacular though, but his songs are dope & like his mixtape. He just REALLY truned me off when he came at CB like that when Chris CLEARLY gave him a compliment! He came off realy cocky & it’s like he didn’t want to be compared to James Flauntleroy & Kevin Cossom like he thought he was better than them! Then to hit CB below the belt like that! I was like ‘Dude, you still on the come up don’t get cute before you even released an album yet’. Chris career has shitted on his entire life at this point!
Frank don’t realize that a lot of TeamBreezy f***** with his ass before he made that cocky ass comment and he turned them off! Frank know he was just trying to be loyal to that Tyler fool and those other weird ass n***** in OF! Frank should know he is the ONLY one that stands a chance to make it in that group! He better not f*** up his chances trying to be loyal to n***** that are gonna hold him back!
I will continue to download his music for FREE but he is gonna have to win me over again before I even think about buying his s***! Cocky ass mofo!
HRMG-WDQL-RKJW