If there’s one thing that Frank Ocean loves more than selling expensive merch that ships months late, it’s pissing off his fans. The fans who listen to his records and enable him to sell expensive merch in the first place. He used to only care about the rich fans; now, he’s told them to fuck off like the rest of us.
It’s been nearly seven years since he released an album, and almost six since he performed live. He was originally scheduled to make a comeback at Coachella in 2020, but obviously that didn’t happen. Fast forward to Coachella 2023, when Frank Ocean headlines the final night and ends the drought. Or does he?
You’d think that for such a long hiatus, he’d at least have something to show for it. New music, new visuals, or at the very least, a good performance. He had nothing. He showed up 57 minutes late, hardly sang, lip-synced or simply danced for most of the set, brought out a DJ with little initial context, and ended the set early. A skating rink off the main stage was planned and approved for months, only for him to demand it be dismantled at the last second. Maybe he was on acid. Maybe he’s just a dickhead. Who knows. I didn’t watch it—I wasn’t there, and he pulled the plug on the official livestream—but you needn’t watch it to understand.
Being a reclusive genius is fine. Mark Hollis and Scott Walker did it. Burial and Jai Paul hardly emerge from their caves either. Yet at least those guys aren’t assholes to their fans. Hollis and Walker took ages to drop records, but excellent ones at that, and they kept silent otherwise. Burial puts out a record or two each year, and Jai Paul seems to care about his artistry to an almost detrimental degree. David Sylvian can be a bit of a moody diva who almost never gives proper interviews, but at least he’s got a decades-long legacy to back it up and provides regular proof-of-life updates. Point is, you can be a reclusive genius without being a complete asshole to your fans. And perhaps above all else, none of those artists attempted to sell $25,000 cock rings like Ocean does through his luxury jewelry brand Homer.
No matter how great Frank Ocean’s next record is—assuming he’s even going to release one, which I remain skeptical of—is it really worth it anymore? He’s spent years disappointing his fans: releasing mediocre singles, focusing on Homer product more than actual music, and now this. Blond will always be one of the greatest records ever made, but I’d rather him publicly announce his retirement than half-ass everything. All he cares about now is making as much money for as little effort. There’s no artistry left. Just ego. It’s sad, inexcusably unprofessional, and embarrassing to watch.
I guess you could add Nick Drake to the reclusive genius list too. I wonder what might have happened been if he had been able to promote his work.