“Be Yourself”: Frank Ocean’s Blonde and Hip-Hop

Abstract

Upon the release of Frank Ocean’s 2016 album, Blonde, its minimalist yet textured musical aesthetic saw critics compare the album to works by rock auteurs such as Brian Wilson and Brian Eno. However, Blonde, while not necessarily a hip-hop album, makes extensive reference to hip-hop in both its musical and lyrical content as well as its extra-musical implications. This essay argues that Blonde’s various connections to a “hip-hop tradition” are more important to understanding the album’s identity than any comparison to a rock-influenced musical aesthetic. This essay defines a “hip-hop tradition” as determined by factors other than the musical aesthetic of the released album, which include the album’s cultural standing, the intention behind the creation, composition or release of the work, the style of lyricism, and the artist’s history and identity: in Blonde’s case, all these factors remain largely indebted to hip-hop conventions. This type of consideration represents a more holistic method of assessing the core identity of a musical work as opposed to solely relying on sonic or commercial considerations. This paper next examines Blonde’s various connections to a “hip-hop tradition” through a study of Ocean’s own personal and musical history, Ocean’s rebellion against the neocolonial establishment of the music industry, his highly collaborative creative process, and the album’s hip-hop-influenced lyrical content.