Frank Ocean - Channel Orange (2012)

On Channel Orange, Frank Ocean became one of music’s most elusive superstars — shy about speaking in public, impossible to pin down musically. He emerged from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, writing pop tunes for the likes of Brandy and Justin Bieber. But he stepped into his own avant-soul territory with Channel Orange, his official debut. Soon after coming out of the closet — still a rarity in R&B at the time — Ocean had a hit with the falsetto slow jam “Thinkin Bout You.” He mixes up genres and vocal personae, with guest shots from André 3000 to John Mayer. The peak: the spacey 10-minute suite “Pyramids,” an Egyptian fantasy starring Cleopatra as an around-the-way girl. Years later, Channel Orange still sounds like the future.

Channel Orange is het eerste studioalbum van Frank Ocean, wiens R&B vaak een teder portret schetst van liefde en liefdesverdriet in combinatie met een scherp gevoel voor humor, wat hem onderscheidt van zijn tijdgenoten. Met gastoptredens van John Mayer en André 3000 is Channel Orange een spannende verzameling nummers waaronder de eerste single "Thinkin Bout You".