10 Years of 'nostalgia, ULTRA'
Frank Ocean’s debut project, “nostalgia, ULTRA” was released on Feb. 16, 2011. The mixtape was spontaneously uploaded onto Tumblr with zero promotion, zero publicity and zero label backing. Formerly writing and singing under the alias Lonny Breaux, Frank Ocean had been signed to Def Jam Recordings for months on end without any major label support. After seeing minimal progress as a result of signing his record deal, he decided to take matters into his own hands, concocting “nostalgia” with a fresh pseudonym and artist identity.
Ocean was raised in the vibrant city of New Orleans, renting out studios when he was just twelve-years-old. When Hurricane Katrina hit in August 2005, Ocean left his storm-ridden hometown for sunny Los Angeles with the promise of shelter and discounted studio time from a friend. After living in Los Angeles for a few years, Ocean started to pen tracks for other artists, collecting songwriting credits for acts like Justin Bieber, Brandy and John Legend.
With “nostalgia, ULTRA”, Ocean was laying the foundations to become one of the greatest singer-songwriters of our generation, leaving his mark as an artist rooted in R&B, soul, alternative and rock & roll.
By late 2009, he was signed to Def Jam, and in 2010, his affiliation with the Tyler, the Creator led collective, Odd Future was sealed. Despite the industry progress, he was making on his own, Def Jam essentially ignored their new signee. After connecting with producers and writers like MIDI Mafia, TROY NōKA, Dirty Swift, Bruce Waynne and Tricky Stewart, Ocean dropped “nostalgia”, and the rest is history.
The 14-track mixtape is Ocean’s “labor of love”, overflowing with references to vintage video games you’d find in an arcade and throwback movies synonymous with Ocean’s adolescence. With references to “Street Fighter”, “James Bond”, “Eyes Wide Shut”, “Soul Calibur” and more, Ocean paints a picture of reminiscence, harkening back to simpler times that shaped the experiences of his then present. Each song and interlude is interspersed with sounds of a crackling record player and cassette tapes being swapped, further emphasizing the retro nature of the tape. Samples from Coldplay, Mr. Hudson, Radiohead, The Eagles and MGMT showed the first signs of Ocean’s genre fluidity. When he finally uploaded the mixtape to iTunes, he infamously categorized it as bluegrass and death metal saying, “I don't want to seem like I have a cause against genres, or maybe I do... Bluegrass is swag.” From the very beginning, it was impossible to put him into a box.
On “nostalgia”, Ocean candidly sings about love, heartbreak, abandonment, suicide, abortion, gay marriage, war and religion, often in figurative terms, but still, leaving no topic too taboo to mention. On songs like “There Will Be Tears”, he sings about the pain of growing up in a single mother household: “Cause these boys didn't have no fathers neither / and they weren't crying / my friend said it wasn't so bad / you can't miss what you ain't had / well, I can / I'm sad.” On the ever introspective “We All Try”, Ocean reveals the underlying complexity of his inner thoughts and values, singing: I believe Jehovah Jireh / I believe there's heaven, I believe in war...I believe that marriage isn't between a man and woman, but between love and love…” In a stunning display of his psyche, Ocean puts his humanity at the forefront, letting listeners absorb facets of his deepest self married with Bob Dylan-esque songwriting abilities and sublime production.
Besides being a critically acclaimed body of work, earning positive nods from sources like Pitchfork, Metacritic, Sputnikmusic and MTV, “nostalgia” was also positively received by artists like Kanye West, Jay-Z, Beyoncé and others. Ocean proved his abilities as a musician and storyteller, moving up the ranks and joining forces with these A-level artists on their subsequent projects. After the success of “nostalgia”, Ocean also secured collaborations with Conor Maynard, Alicia Keys, The Internet, Earl Sweatshirt, and more.
With “nostalgia, ULTRA”, Ocean was laying the foundations to become one of the greatest singer-songwriters of our generation, leaving his mark as an artist rooted in R&B, soul, alternative and rock & roll. A decade ago, the timeless mixtape spawned a new set of genre rules or lack thereof. Since the seemingly unassuming nostalgia jolted the industry, we’ve witnessed a heightened emergence of DIY, free-thinking artists who are boundlessly creative, independent, and supremely transparent. Perhaps he was unaware at the time, but Frank Ocean remains the movement’s fearless leader.
