Having been ignored by the record company (Island Def Jam) that signed him, Frank Ocean released his entire album for free on his Tumblr account. Titled "Nostalgia, Ultra", this passionate and humble release is putting Mr. Ocean on the map.
Born in New Orleans but living in Beverly Hills (evacuated to LA when hurricane Katrina hit), Frank also goes by the name Christopher Breaux. Under this name he has written songs for artists such as John Legend, Justin Bieber and Beyonce Knowles, as well as Kanye West and Jay-Z. Pretty impressive huh?
"Nostalgia, Ultra" shows Ocean's maturity amidst a mostly younger crowd of fellow collaborators. The lyrics to each and every song are meaningful and Ocean uses his smarts to drop plenty of small tribute tidbits to Stanley Kubrick, Coldplay, MGMT and The Eagles. The album feels like a close friend. Sit down with it all night and learn a lot about yourself and society around you.
Swim Good was the first song that caught my ear on the first go-round of the album. I then saw the music video and was blown away. Put a Cadillac on the California coastline and you've got a winner. Enjoy.
frank ocean [swim good] from christopher francis ocean on Vimeo.
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