--- title: Frank Ocean Blonde: 8 Things To Know About His New Album description: After four years, Frank Ocean has finally dropped his long-awaited album, "Blonde;" here are seven things that you should know about it. canonical: https://time.com/4461555/frank-ocean-new-album-blonde-2/ author: Cady Lang article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-08-22T19:22:03.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T00:07:31.824Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Eight Things You Didn't Know About Frank Ocean's New Album og:description: From Kanye's epic McDonald's poem to Beyoncé's feature og:url: https://time.com/4461555/frank-ocean-new-album-blonde-2/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Eight Things You Didn't Know About Frank Ocean's New Album twitter:description: From Kanye's epic McDonald's poem to Beyoncé's feature twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Eight Things You Didn't Know About Frank Ocean's New Album, 'Blonde' > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account.  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Aug 22, 2016 7:22 PM UTC  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Aug 22, 2016 7:22 PM UTC After four years, [Frank Ocean](http://time100.time.com/2013/04/18/time-100/slide/frank-ocean/) dropped his [long-anticipated _Channel Orange_ follow-up, _Blonde_](http://time.com/4460579/frank-ocean-new-album-blonde/); a [visual album “stream” called _Endless_](http://time.com/4460139/frank-ocean-visual-album-endless/); a lush music video for “Nikes,” the first track off _Blonde;_ and a ‘zine titled _Boys Don’t Cry —_ all within 48 hours. Much to the delight of [his long-suffering fans](http://time.com/4458822/frank-ocean-endless-reactions/), Ocean’s new releases were [chock-full of high-profile surprises and artistic choices](http://time.com/4439541/frank-ocean-new-album-boys-dont-cry-info/) that made it well worth the [wait](http://time.com/4413818/frank-ocean-next-album-boys-dont-cry/). Read on for eight surprises from Ocean’s latest offerings. **Kanye West wrote an original poem about McDonald’s for** **_Boys Don’t Cry_** **:** Yeezy, a longtime Ocean collaborator, contributed an original poem about the Golden Arches for Ocean’s ‘zine, whose [credits](https://twitter.com/speriod/status/767139220012015617?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw) also include the likes of artist Tom Sachs and photographer Ren Hang. The poem includes the lines, “McDonalds man / McDonalds man / The French fries had a plan” and “The salad bad and the ketchup made a band / Cus the French fries had a plan / The French fries had a plan,” according to social media posts with photos of the ‘zine. It was published alongside photos of West driving a blacked-out Lamborghini through the McDonald’s drive-through that were lensed by photographer Nabil Elderkin. > [](https://twitter.com/duddersj/status/767153359379894272) > [](https://twitter.com/KimKanyeKimYeFC/status/767286310507864068) **The** **_Endless_** **visual was originally much longer:** In an in-depth interview with [_Pitchfork_](http://pitchfork.com/news/67699-tom-sachs-explains-frank-oceans-endless-stairway-to-heaven/), Tom Sachs revealed that the original _Endless_ visual stream was 140 hours, but was eventually edited down to 40 min. Sachs justified the long wait for the new album, citing that “it’s testament to the reality that things made by hand take time…when you see the video, you see him building a stairway to heaven in real time. The 40-minute version is edited, but there’s something like a 140-hour version. That’s the whole thing. That exists, that’s the art piece.” > [](https://twitter.com/AppleMusic/status/766486036255940610) **Frank was well aware of the impatience and anxiety surrounding his new work:** Contrary to popular belief, the elusive and reclusive Frank Ocean was not completely oblivious to his fans’ distress that an album would actually arrive. After he released all his new material, Ocean penned a note on his personal [Tumblr](http://frankocean.tumblr.com/post/149245806386/i-had-the-time-of-my-life-making-all-of-this) with a wry nod to his fans’ devotion to him and his music. “I had the time of my life making all of this. Thank you all. Especially those of you who never let me forget I had to finish. Which is basically every one of y’all. Haha. Love you.” Ocean also acknowledges his time management skills on the final track on _Blonde_, “Futura Free,” where he sings, “I ain’t on your schedule/I ain’t on no schedule.” **Two of the new tracks actually debuted in 2013:** Ocean performed early versions of _Blonde_‘s “Ivy” and “Seigfried” during a concert in Munich, Germany in the summer of 2013\. The then-unnamed tracks eventually became the songs now featured on Ocean’s new album. **He turned Queen Bey into the most over-qualified backup singer ever:** Beyoncé and Ocean have long been collaborators, starting with him writing “I Miss You,” for her 2011 studio album, _4_. He later appeared on her track, “Superpower” in 2013 on her album, _Beyoncé_. Now, on _Blonde_, Beyoncé’s diva vocals take the backseat on “Pink + White,” appearing nearly halfway through the sultry track, where she only utters one line, “Take it easy,” and spends the rest of the time harmonizing in the background. Who takes one of the biggest stars in music and culture and uses her just for background vocals? Frank Ocean, that’s who. **His album shares a name with his company:** Frank’s album is titled, _Blonde_, but it reads as _Blond_ on his album cover which features an image of him with neon green hair. It turns out that his album shares the same title as his racing company, Blonde Racing LLC, which is also responsible for the content posted on [his official website, BoysDontCry.co](http://boysdontcry.co/pages/terms) **_Blonde_** **takes the spiritual existentialism that defined** **_Channel Orange_** **and strides forward confidently:** In his ‘zine _Boys Don’t Cry_, Ocean features sensual shots of both male and female bodies, while in his “Nikes” video, nude and/or glitter-covered bodies embrace. Ocean also sports winged eyeliner, gold body glitter and a pearl-encrusted Balmain jumpsuit. Additionally, on _Endless_, Ocean [samples a clip of drag queen Crystal LaBeija](http://www.thefader.com/2016/08/19/frank-ocean-endless-the-queen-quote) from the 1967 documentary, _The Queen,_ and [opens his ‘zine with a confession](http://frankocean.tumblr.com/image/149245577141) that his car obsession might be: “a deep subconscious straight boy fantasy…consciously though, I don’t want straight — a little bent is good.” **His latest offerings showcase his skills as an artist and creative force:** With the release of not only a new studio album, but a visual album that chronicles a live art performance (and some major carpentry skills!), a image-driven ‘zine, [some introspective Tumblr essays](http://time.com/4376375/orlando-shooting-frank-ocean-response-tumblr/), and a music video that reads more as a lush short film, Ocean has proved that he can seamlessly use his talents across many genres. 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