What Does Frank Ocean Owe Us?

Frank Ocean's fans have learned over the years that he's not the type of artist whose moves you can predict. His dedication to being one of the music world's most adored recluses is what's driven public intrigue into everything he does from one album to the next and every creative project in between.

With that being said, it's been six years since we've seen Frank Ocean perform live onstage, and six years since he released Blonde, the game-changing, genre-fluid record that had everyone racing to download Apple Music in order to get a first listen. Everyone remembers where they were Blonde dropped, and everyone remembers what songs they instantly clinged to, and the same can be said with his records Channel Orange and Nostalgia, Ultra before that. On Sunday night, Frank Ocean returned to the stage at Coachella after a three year delay, once cancelled on his part and the second time due to the initial COVID-19 outbreak. Like most of Ocean's work, the performance and public reaction to it isn't anything that can be explained in solely a tweet or a TikTok or wrapped in a bow readily broken down for public consumption. Frank Ocean makes you work to understand what he's trying to tell you, at all times.

Assumedly because of an especially intricate set design and special screens being set up to create the visual effects for Ocean's set, he started over an hour late which resulted in the festival producers cutting off his performance shortly after midnight, leaving fans robbed of another 45 minutes to an hour of material they were aching to witness live. There's no denying that it was disappointing and maybe par for the course for what fans expect when it comes to Ocean. There's no such thing as having just the right amount of him — people always want more and when we do have access to him, it's not always in the way they want. But it felt especially devastating to have waited years for an essentially impossible to see performance because of California curfew laws. (Fans at home weren't able to experience Ocean's comeback either due to YouTube not streaming his performance live unlike other headliners that weekend. This was most likely Ocean's own creative decision).

Disappointments aside, Ocean has never sounded better and based on the sonic storytelling he bared during his time onstage, he's been feeling particularly creatively fulfilled, something that fans were eager to see considering the personal circumstances surrounding the singer. It was only three years ago that he lost his younger brother, Ryan Breaux, unexpectedly in a tragic car accident and the singer has never publicly commented on his death until the night of the festival. After the first few songs of his set while addressing the crowd for the first time directly that evening, Ocean made sure to honor him, sharing that they used to come to Coachella together often and how he would have loved to witness this defining moment in his career. Throughout his performance, it often felt as if Ocean wasn't singing to the crowd, but rather to him.

Musically, the shortened set provided a rare insight into Ocean's current sonic universe. He opened the night with his Nostalgia, Ultra ear-worm "Novacane" and performed stunning, stripped back versions of "Self Control", "Godspeed" and even a cover of Aaliyah's "At Your Best (You Are Love) for his final song. At some points he'd forgo the microphone altogether opting to play blasting versions of some of his more popular hits like "Nikes" while mouthing the words along with fans. Some criticized the decision as lazy and low effort. Others saw it as the singer opting to simply take in the moment and vibe with the crowd of thousands. He did say he missed us, after all.

One of the high points of Ocean's time onstage with a nearly 15 minute DJ interlude where he played remixes of some of his tracks reimagined into a pulsating, high energy bounce beat. (His Met Gala robot baby also made a fun appearance). The bounce incorporation seemed to go over a lot of the crowd's heads, unfortunately. Longtime fans recognized the connection that Ocean is a New Orleans native where the hip-hop style was originated and later on adopted by the likes of Drake and Beyoncé. It's also an inherently Black genre, making it an in-your-face creative decision for a crowd like Coachella.

Frank Ocean's performance showcased how the relationship between an artist and their fans can often become complicated. Not unlike Beyoncé opting to (thus far) not share visuals for her lauded album Renaissance almost a year into its release, Ocean's Coachella moment asks what does an artist owe to the fans that made them? They don't have to create or perform or succumb to the publicity machine that is the music industry and it's been clear from the jump with Ocean that he doesn't create for the goal of being famous. It's merely what he became when his devastatingly introspective music began to transfix the world. Maybe he never asked or even wanted all of this, but felt obligated to continue to give something to his fans over the years.

Ocean is the rare artist who can not speak or be seen (unless you're lucky enough to catch him on the rare occasion biking in Soho or brunching at Balthazar) yet will remain relevant because of how his art speaks for itself. Should he aim to create a better experience for his fans come weekend two of the festival? Absolutely. Does he need to consider how the world will perceive him after this first performance? No. He's Frank Ocean, and his name and his work has come to symbolize something bigger than himself. What people tend to forget is that he's still human, after all.

You Might Also Like

• 4 Investment-Worthy Skincare Finds From Sephora

• The 17 Best Retinol Creams Worth Adding to Your Skin Care Routine