Back up on initial release, there was mass confusion about whether the ‘e’ was supposed to be there or not, since it didn’t appear on the album cover, but showed up on iTunes and Apple Music as Blonde. Pink + White is a deeply introspective look at love in youth (often with reference to Hurricane Katrina, which is mentioned at multiple points on Blonde ), all upon the most glamorous and sparkly production the album sees.īesides all of the haunting, skeletal, nostalgic, summery and avant-garde instrumentals that are scattered throughout the album, there are many other features that make this a deeply philosophical masterpiece- something more than just an audio experience. There are many themes that run throughout the album, but the main one has to be nostalgia and all the things that come with growing up. Then there’s Ivy, a song that sounds youthful and innocent in both the instrumental and Frank’s child-like, almost shy vocals. The production on this song is stunning and emotional, contrasting said lyrics- with the most crisp drum-set track brought to the forefront that you’ll hear until later on in Nights, a song iconic for its orgasmic beat switch. Lyrically, it’s a take on modern day materialism in relationships and emotionless connections with the people Frank surrounds himself with, etc. The record opens up with the song Nikes, and the first of the vocals we hear are pitched and warped, almost feminine (something that is important to Blonde and I’ll delve deeper into). Instantly, you would know this album would be worth listening to. He gathered the most high-brow people in the respective genres to help him out with production and vocals (uncredited on the track list, because you know, Frank can do that) such as Beyoncé, Tyler, the Creator, Andre 3000 and Jamie XX.

There were undertones of rebellion with this release, something maybe of spite against Def Jam’s wishes for Frank to release a solely visual album.

He had established himself as an R&B/Soul necessity, drawing in listeners of 90s-2000s inspired hip-hop and mainstream pop alike.įlash forward to 2016, he drops his visual album Endless which determines his end with record label Def Jam, and to all of our shared surprise, drops his covertly produced album Blonde the very next day. Frank’s fans had been waiting for something… anything… to come from him for long after Channel Orange’ s release in 2012.

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