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Frank, I’m Sorry.

Critical acclaim, nearly perfect scores in trusted pop culture magazines, and #1 album of 2016 on nearly every year-end list. Blond(e) exceeded expectations and became food for the musically starved. Yet, here I sat for 6 months with disappointment in what I had heard from Blond(e). It felt as though I was the only one who didn’t fall in love with the album on the first listen, or 2nd, etc.

In early March I stumbled upon “Frank Ocean - Blonde Tribute” on YouTube and it began to change my outlook on the album. It brought familiarity and forced me to see the album in a different light. It layered beautiful tracks over clips from anime’s such as Akira, Castle in the Sky, and Spirited Away. While not every song is used, the ones that are used are used flawlessly. The songs used add to the surrealism that these films portray, Blond(e) is meant to keep you grounded while allowing you to escape.

The album has since made sense to me, Frank’s life is chaotic and he’s letting us in. Blond(e) is more personal than Nostalgia, Ultra. and Channel Orange and it forces you to reflect on personal woes and triumphs in a way Frank Ocean hasn’t done before. While I wouldn’t say his previous projects were overly grand, Blond(e) is a step in a different direction as everything is stripped down to its bare bones from front-to-back. As PigeonsAndPlanes.Com aptly titled their Blond(e) and Endless review, “Frank Ocean Trades Hook for Heart on his New Projects.” It might be a result of it being independent of label backing allowing him to release the music he wanted the public to hear.

Still, not every song has resonated with me and that’s alright, not every song is meant to. I’m just glad I can listen to Blond(e) and appreciate the music, something I struggled with for so long. It’s become habit for me to leave “Nights” on repeat just so I can listen to the last portion more than once (it’s 2 AM and there isn’t a better time to do this).

So, Frank Ocean I’m sorry for doubting your talent. I’m not sure how I could be so wrong and for so long.

[anoriginalpressing-blog]

Anderson .Paak: An Unsung Hero

The release of “Suede” would start a chain of events that would change Anderson .Paak’s life. The single with producer Knxwledge would release on February 10, 2015, and sometime later would reach the ears of Dr. Dre. This of course would lead him to appearing on over half of Compton and eventually being signed to Dr. Dre’s legendary Aftermath label. The story has been well documented but still feels like something straight out of a Disney movie. Since the release of “Suede” .Paak has released two critically acclaimed albums, Malibu and Yes Lawd! along with 2 EPs, The Anderson .Paak EP and Link Up/Suede which was the predecessor to Yes Lawd!. 

Based on his age alone, 30, .Paak seems like such an unlikely individual to raise to the ranks of next big star. The current state of raising the ranks to musical stardom seem to be reserved for those under 25. At 30 .Paak has this sense of maturity that many raising stars seem to be lacking, it’s something that comes with age. He’s happy to be where he’s at. 

.Paak received 2 Grammy nominations earlier this month, one for Best New Artist and another for Best Urban Contemporary Album for Malibu. Unfortunately he lost both, Best New Artist to Chance The Rapper and Malibu lost to Beyoncé’s Lemonade. The talent of both Chance and Beyoncé is undeniable at this point, they’ve become cultural staples. Yet, it still feels as though Anderson .Paak wasn’t properly rewarded for the impact he had in 2016. The Grammys only taking into consideration from October-September leaves out October’s Yes Lawd!. Although I don’t think he realistically could’ve beaten either artist in those categories, but maybe Yes Lawd! could’ve shifted the committee in the Best New Artist category. 

In December all publications, major and minor, mainstream and indie, and everything in between released their albums of the year lists. Rolling Stone left out Malibu, it’s expected that your favorite albums typically aren’t going to make the list. Yet, how does an album with so much critical acclaim get left off of one of the biggest music publications year-end list? That’s also not to mention Yes Lawd! was also snubbed from the publications list. The Life of Pablo at 8, Day Breaks at 46, Views at 42, and the list goes on with questionable placing. Music is subjective and each person has their own preference, but an album that grabs from nearly every genre and cohesively puts it altogether in one album not making your list? Rolling Stone did the world an injustice.

While I don’t know .Paak personally, I don’t think he cares much about winning awards or being spotted on Rolling Stones 50 best albums of the year list (I could also be wrong). Publications usually get it wrong and award shows are even more prone to the flack us fans dish out. All we can do as fans is support our favorite artists and complain that publications and award shows don’t appreciate our favorites. The Grammys suck, that’s a fact!

What’s in store for .Paak in 2017? So far he’ll be opening for Bruno Mars on his 24K World Tour. Maybe 2017 will bring him all the recognition and acclaim he deserves.

P.S.

Anderson .Paak’s music speaks for itself, but if you need another reason to appreciate this man, he’s one Ellen Degeneres favorite musicians. She brought him back on to Ellen so he could perform on her birthday, and he also brought a special guest with him.