After fulfilling his Def Jam recording contract in releasing his visual album Endless last year, the shackles are off for Frank Ocean as his newfound independence as an artist continues to bear fruit.
Following the stratospheric success of almost everyone’s album of the year Blond – which came shortly after Endless – topping the charts both here and across the pond, Ocean hasn’t let up his work ethic. Already this year he has dropped two of his own singles, Chanel and Biking, as well as featuring on Calvin Harris’ Slide alongside Migos.
Lo and behold, Ocean has continued his hot streak by treating us all to another surprise drop – Lens. After a brief opening of erratic drum machine percussion, Ocean opts for one of his less frequented creative avenues – in rolling back the years and autotuning his tenor voice in the vein of Kanye West circa 2008.
Crooning over the delicate backing of a keyboard, Lens sees Ocean give us an insight into his sexual history – with his well-publicised bisexuality perhaps here being likened to merely switching the lens of his outlook on life.
You can listen to Lens at the 1:18:55 mark of Frank Ocean’s Blonded 004 stream on Apple Music.
Words by Jonno Mack
