Frank Ocean”s “Channel ORANGE” has dropped a week early. Fans can stream all 18 tracks (several of them interstitial) here or buy the set on iTunes.
Ocean, a member of Odd Future, has been all over the news lately after sharing in a moving message on his Tumblr page that his first love was a man, although he never identified himself as gay or bisexual. Some of the material on solo album “Channel ORANGE” addresses that relationship. For example on “Sierra Leone,” he sings about being so in love, he and his paramour are “acting like teenagers” and have even run out of Trojans. A number of other R&B and rap artists, including Beyonce, have sent out message of support.
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A quick listen reveals the album gorgeously blends old school R&B with smooth jams and innovative production, all bolstered by Ocean’s impassioned, emotional singing. While his news may have overshadowed the music briefly, now that folks will get a chance to hear the songs for themselves, the music is poised to take back over the conversation.
Ocean made his television performance debut last night on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.” He sang the raw, spare “Bad Religion,” a searing story that features Ocean confessing to a taxi driver about his unrequited love for another man: “If it brings me to my knees, it’s a bad religion/Unrequited love to me is nothing but a one-man cult.”