Why Frank Ocean Is the Best Lyricist of the Decade

With 2020 wrapping up, I can’t help but reflect back on all the amazing music that was gifted to us this decade. This was truly one of the most impactful eras of music to ever exist, and I am beyond grateful I was able to not only experience it but create so many long-lasting memories connected to so many songs. After spending hours listening to old playlists and watching old videos, I have narrowed down one artist in particular as the most influential in my life during this period of growth and change that will forever have a long-lasting impact on the years to come. 

I remember the first time I heard his voice. ‘Thinkin Bout You’ was a classic before it was a classic, back when me and my friends would still listen to the radio before TikTok controlled the charts. Frank Ocean, the name itself holds so much power, he was destined for greatness from the beginning, even back when he still went by Christopher Breaux.

“No, I don't like you, I just thought you were cool enough to kick it

Got a beach house I could sell you in Idaho

Since you think I don't love you, I just thought you were cute

That's why I kiss you” 

Frank Ocean's music style is one of a kind. The roll your windows down, turn the volume up, late-night summer vibes that we so desperately need now more than ever. His soft voice and lyrical genius invoke emotions that I didn’t even know I had at such a young age. 

‘Channel Orange,’ his first studio album, was released July 10, 2012. 

“Super rich kids with nothing but loose ends

Super rich kids with nothing but fake friends”

‘Super Rich Kids,’ the seventh song on the album, spoke to me on a different level. Attending private school most of my life, his lyrics about privilege were spot on, reminding me of the people I was surrounded by on a daily basis. He sings about how money and wealth do not bring you happiness, but rather the opposite. He takes a deep dive into drug abuse, anger issues, and depression, alluding to unauthentic experiences to the acquisition of fake friends. The search for real love seems to get lost in the search for wealth and material things, hence the lyrics ‘super rich kids with nothing but fake friends.’ 

“What do you think my brain is made for

Is it just a container for the mind?”

‘Pink Matter,’ my personal favorite on the album, tells of Frank’s deep respect for women, all through the lens of sexuality. The song tells of how women are responsible for the world’s orbit, referring to them as pink matter. This is in comparison to the grey matter, which our brain is made out of, lacking creativity and power. The symbolism in this song is so beautiful. ‘Pink Matter’ highlights the progression of Frank’s feministic development over time, once caring about only women’s bodies and sexual purpose, but now shifting to show how that without women, Frank’s life lacks wholeness.

“I found you laying down with Samson and his full head of hair

I found my black queen Cleopatra, bad dreams, Cleopatra”

‘Pyramids’, the longest song on Channel Orange, totaling out to 9 minutes and 53 seconds, is a two-part ballad comparing ancient Egypt and the modern-day, telling the story of Pharaoh and Cleopatra as history tells, and contrasting it with a modern-day unemployed protagonist and his lonely strip club worker girlfriend, whom he calls Cleopatra. A trend throughout this album is that Frank pulls from real-life experiences. "I have actual pimps in my family in LA," Ocean revealed to UK newspaper The Guardian. "It was fantasy built off that dynamic... but you can only write what you know to a point."

‘Blonde,’ his second studio album, was released on August 20, 2016. 

“Acid on me like the rain

Weed crumbles in the glitter

Rain, glitter

We laid out on this wet floor

Away turf, no Astro

Mesmerized how the strobes glow”

‘Nikes,’ is truly one of the most articulately composed songs of our generation. Not only does it comment on consumerism, love, and human nature, it also highlights the systemic failings of the justice system that leave the lives of too many young African-Americans at risk. “Pour up for A$AP. RIP Pimp C. RIP Trayvon, that n**** look just like me.” ‘Nikes,’ tells a story of wealth versus reality, the unimportance of material objects, and the overwhelming value he places on good conversation. He seeks fame and fortune as synonyms for demons and devils. The song is full of allusion, metaphors, and similes, shedding light on the reality of life as a celebrity, the pressure to do drugs, and the unhappiness that comes with living life in the fast lane. 

“Shut the f*ck up, I don't want your conversation

Rollin' marijuana, that's a cheap vacation”

Nothing could have prepared me for the first time I heard the cinematic masterpiece that is ‘Nights.’ Referred to by some as a “song for lost souls,” this song was written about the scariness that comes along with time passing. The five-minute song was written shortly after Frank Ocean was displaced due to Hurricane Katrina, forcing him to travel from his hometown of New Orleans to Houston, Texas. ‘Nights’ similar to ‘Nikes’ is also divided into two parts. The first part, before the beat switch,  full of percussion and bass, creates a sense of urgency, referred to by some as the high. The comedown, or the second half of the song, is the complete opposite. As most comedowns are, the song reflects feelings of somberness, “Every night f*cks every day up. Every day patches the night up.” Overall, ‘Nights’ is just another example of how talented Frank Ocean really is, not only do his lyrics tell a story, but his tone of voice, the instrumentals and the beats all work together to invoke emotions most of us might not have been aware we could feel solely through the power of music. 

“I'll be the boyfriend in your wet dreams tonight

Noses on a rail, little virgin wears the white

You cut your hair but you used to live a blonded life

Wish I was there, wish we'd grown up on the same advice

And our time was right”

The last song I want to bring to your attention is ‘Self Control,’ a ballad where desperation meets timing. Singing about love, longing, and heartbreak, it truly is the ultimate breakup song. Despite Frank denying the song is about anyone in particular, ‘Self Control’ formulates through melody and lyrical emphasis exactly how it feels to lose someone you love. "Keep a place for me, for me. I'll sleep between y'all, it's nothing." 

Looking at all of these songs from a lyrical standpoint, it is easy to make the claim that Frank Ocean is the best lyricist of all time. Both ‘Channel Orange’ and ‘Blonde’ take a unique approach to unwrap the complex emotional strain Frank Ocean has experienced for most of his life. Whether he is singing about addiction, loss, abuse, sexuality, or fantasy, every song is uniquely curated and written to create a one-of-a-kind listening experience.  

Whether you are alone, with friends, at the beach, in the car, in the mountains, Frank Ocean’s sound is so versatile that it can mold to fit perfectly into any mood or shift seamlessly into the background of any setting. To me, that is what makes every song he has ever released so amazing. At Ideaison, we understand the importance of music like this. The type of music that makes you want to get out of the house and feel something new. Good music is timeless, great music is infinite, Frank Ocean’s music is both.