Expansive soundscapes give way to moments of focus, such as when the meandering stream-of-consciousness style of “Sierra Leone” leads into the taut jazz of “Sweet Life.” But over time, the listener will find the wide open spaces on channel ORANGE compelling, leaving room for Ocean’s voice to permeate every crevice of the music. Songs wander at a leisurely, but unsettling, pace with no obvious destination - a quality that could be construed as a drawback. It’s only fitting that the production on channel ORANGE be just as daring as the lyrics. On “Bad Religion,” Ocean laments the one-sided nature of his love: “This unrequited love / To me it’s nothing but a one-man cult / And cyanide in my styrofoam cup / I could never make him love me.” While this admirable revelation should not serve to inflate our judgement of the merits of channel ORANGE, it would be impossible not to acknowledge this very personal aspect of his life, as it informs many of his lyrics on the album. It was a huge step forward for the hip-hop/R&B community as many prominent rappers tweeted their support.
That anticipation skyrocketed when just this month, Ocean revealed through a courageous Tumblr post that his first love was another man. The world took notice, creating much anticipation for Ocean’s official debut, channel ORANGE. After joining shock-rap collective Odd Future and dropping a celebrated solo mixtape, Ocean scored front-row seats to Watch the Throne by singing on Jay-Z and Kanye West’s decadent collaborative album last year. At 24 years old, Ocean’s lyrical and musical depth far surpasses that of most of his R&B contemporaries.
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