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Social Media Rejoices After Frank Ocean Previews New Music
On Wednesday (Nov. 8), Frank Ocean offered a rare glimpse into his latest work.
The singer teased an unnamed track on his Instagram account yesterday evening, sparking widespread anticipation among fans. The minute-long snippet saw Ocean’s signature melodic style over a minimalist synthesizer, marking some of his first material since singles like “Dear April” and “Cayendo” in 2020.
The lyrics seemingly hinted at introspection and complexity within relationships. The channel ORANGE artist sang, “Playin’ way more laid back than I did when I was my younger self/ You would vent to me ’bout assumptions, but they were educated guesses/ That’s why I keep spinning your block, tryna see all your sides, and your heart’s been tangled in barbed wires/ You can hand it to me, I can handle it.”
Furthermore, the move aligned with Ocean’s history of unpredictability in releasing music, often with little or no prior notice. Since his last full album, 2016’s Blonde, the Long Beach native emerged sporadically with various excerpts and other artistic projects.
“Frank Ocean stans, the new era is NOW upon us. We did it. The drought IS over. WE’RE SO BACK,” wrote one user on Twitter. Another chimed in, “Me [and] the homies crying to this new Frank Ocean snippet.”
me n the homies crying to this new frank ocean snippet
— lunarboy (@lvnarboymusic) November 9, 2023
why frank ocean already got song of the decade ✌🏼😭
— Frank Ocean Updates (@blahnded) November 9, 2023
GTA 6 got an official announcement and Frank Ocean previewed new music within the same 24 hours… tf is going on? 😭
— Kurrco (@Kurrco) November 9, 2023
Yesterday’s teaser followed a period of increased social media activity from the musician after his public withdrawal from the second weekend of Coachella in April. His set the prior Sunday (Apr. 16) was marred by technical difficulties that took place after making last-minute adjustments to his production because of a serious ankle injury.
A representative from the artist’s team told Variety, “After suffering an injury to his leg on festival grounds in the week leading up to weekend one, Frank Ocean was unable to perform the intended show but was still intent on performing, and in 72 hours, the show was reworked out of necessity.”
They added, “On doctor’s advice, [Ocean] is not able to perform weekend two due to two fractures and a sprain in his left leg.”