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Frank Ocean’s sophomore album, Blonde, has deservingly become a staple album of the 2010s due to its representation of the experiences of heartbreak, loss and trauma, and personal reflection. 

Released in 2016, following Ocean’s first studio album, Channel Orange, in 2012, Blonde primarily focuses on Ocean’s personal struggles with his idea of masculinity and loss, which differs from Channel Orange’s themes of materialism, societal inequalities, and unrequited love. 

The album’s second and arguably most popular track, “Ivy,” is about an individual’s first love and the heartbreak following the breakup. Ocean addresses each partner’s obsession with one another in the lyrics: “If I could see through walls / I could see you’re faking / If you could see my thoughts / You would see our faces.” 

“Self Control” is a story about an interaction between two ex-lovers struggling to let go of one another, despite one partner has already moved into another relationship. Ocean acknowledges how both partners yearn for one another still but cannot pursue each other: “I, I, I know you gotta leave, leave, leave / Take down some summertime / Give up, just tonight, ‘night, ‘night.” 

Through “Self Control,” Ocean conveys the emotional pain of moving on from a past relationship and describes the feeling of weakness and the lack of identity one can experience following the breakup. 

Songs such as “Seigfried” emphasize the power of self-reflection. Through its lyrics, Ocean reveals how he struggled with his obsession with perfectionism. However, towards the end of the song, Ocean expresses that once he accepted his flaws, life became more meaningful and enjoyable. 

Additionally, the album features familiar artists from Channel Orange, such as Andre 3000, in “Solo (Reprise)”, and piano arrangements from James Blake. 

Through Blonde, Ocean enables listeners to indirectly experience the raw emotions that Ocean expresses.