Every now and then a true original comes along. The word gets tossed around a lot, original. But in my opinion a major chunk of what's left out usually is any real substance. Frank Ocean is a true original, and hopefully this year we were introduced to only the beginning of a long and substantial career. Italian Vogue take photos (not the one up top) and say nice things.

Prince once sang about Dorothy Parker, a waitress who worked the night shift, dishwater blonde, tall and fine and how they took a bubble bath, with his pants on as Joni Mitchell played in the background. The midtempo ballad proved that r&b, like hip hop, is capable of telling a story with a novel’s attention to structure, plot and detail. Well, Frank Ocean is the best r&b lyricist since Prince.


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