23 Rapper JayDaYoungan Reportedly Shot & Killed In Louisiana Hometown.

27 will.i.am Has A Hot Take On 2Pac & Biggie: 'That Kind Of Music Doesn't Speak To My Spirit'.

39 DaBaby Reveals He's A Trump Supporter: 'N-gga Let Kodak Out'.4 Rick Ross Explains Why He’s Never Had To Sue Anyone He’s Worked With.4 New Music Friday - New Albums From Beyoncé, Maxo Kream, Wiz Khalifa, Doe Boy + More.5 JayDaYoungan's Girlfriend Mourns Rapper's Death Weeks After Losing Newborn Baby.6 Gucci Mane Urges Rappers To 'Stop Dissing The Dead' On New Song.6 Styles P Has Epic Rant Questioning Bots On Instagram.7 Russ Flexes 6-Figure Indie Rap Income: 'Inspirational Purposes Only'.8 Yung Miami Declares Fellow City Girl JT 'Queen Of Rap'.11 Kendrick Lamar Tells 12-Year-Old Reporter How He Wants His Legacy To Be Remembered.17 Kelis Accuses Beyoncé Of Stealing Sample Of Her Song For 'Renaissance' Album: 'It's Not A Collab, It's Theft'.26 Kelis Claims Pharrell Sampled Her Single For Beyoncé Out Of Spite: 'This Was A Direct Hit'.That alone is enough to consider Blond(e)d a triumph, however the hell you spell it.Įxperience the music behind Frank Ocean’s Blonde album covers on iTunes or stream it via Apple Music today. He’s more than the voice of a generation at this point he’s the artist that your favorite rappers and musicians are trying to keep up with, even after a four year hiatus. Like so many things about this release, he’s chosen the method of delivery most likely to be indigestible by the giant sorting, tagging and archiving stomach of the internet–while simultaneously making aware of our place in the belly of the beast.īut then again, this is Frank “The Enigma” Ocean we’re talking about. At the same time by releasing multiple spellings with graphics that contradict or vary from the official title used by streaming services, Ocean seems to be intentionally messing with us.

There is surely some method to the madness when one considers the way the spelling and typographical choices play off gendered constructions, echoing the projects visual and musical themes…”blond” being masculine, “blonde” being feminine and “blonded” being what all of us are in a post-August 20th, 2016 world. Our guess? the Blond puzzle, seeped in matters of identity, sexuality and non-normative gender roles, is meant to break both the internet and the antiquated lexicon used to describe not just music, but a person’s identity within and without it. Maybe it’s Kanye levels of misdirection, maybe it’s another brilliant ploy to keep us neck-deep in the book and not wonder what Frank Ocean’s got coming next for another four years. After all, why choose one cover when the internet lets you have all the versions you like (and a ‘zine and a film and…and…)īut given the level of artistic care and sheer effort that have gone into the whole complex of creative material released around Blond(e)d we believe there’s something else at work. Now, it’s easy to chalk this up to last-minute alterations in the mad-dash to this massive, multi-layered roll-out, or to dismiss it as artistic indecision. Three distinctive versions of the album’s cover pop up on the ripped CD, all with their own stylistic take on the album’s name: Blonde, Blond and Blonded.

Frank ocean blonde album cover