Imagine texting a friend and agreeing to meet at a local cafe in 30 minutes. Now imagine waiting there for three full years, as disappointment sours into betrayal, and you gradually begin to realize that this friend isn’t coming.
I’m all too familiar with this kind of betrayal. I’ve been waiting for Frank Ocean’s sophomore album since my sophomore year and as a current senior, it’s finally time for my diss column.
Frank Ocean solidified his place in hip hop and R&B history with his incredible first album, Channel Orange: a compilation of songs regarding injustices faced by black Americans, suburban privilege and Ocean’s sexuality. So when he posted on Tumblr with a “#July2015” to inform fans of a potential new album, “Boys Don’t Cry,” I was giddy with excitement. But that enthusiasm was smothered when both July and August flew by, leaving me in a vegetable state of denial.
Come late July, I was readying myself for Jake Gyllenhaal’s boxing movie, “Southpaw.” I’m not a fan of combat sports, but there was a circulating rumor was circulating that Ocean would release a new single as a part of the movie’s soundtrack. But of course, I was crushed again when I realized that the “new” song was just “Wiseman,” a song that had been released two years ago as part of the “Django Unchained” soundtrack. At that time, I was ready to go all Southpaw on Ocean himself.
But this wasn’t the worst of it. Radio silence would’ve been better than toying with my heart. Ocean recently had the gall to upload an audio-free playlist on his Soundcloud. His Tumblr is chock-full of riddles hinting at his new album. He also released his 5-year-old mixtape, Lonny Breaux, on Spotify in hopes of placating fans. Only fake fans could believe that Lonny was the new album.
I’m calling you out now, Ocean. To quote my favorite Frank Ocean song, “Lost,” “I just wanna know why you ain’t been going to work?”