Frank Ocean to Release New Album ‘Boys Don’t Cry’ This Week
R&B singer links with Apple Music for new release Friday
Frank Ocean Photo: Fred von Lohmann/Wikimedia Commons/CC-BY-2.0
Frank Ocean will release the follow-up to his acclaimed 2012 album Channel Orange this Friday via Apple Music. The new album, Boys Don’t Cry, will be sold as well as a print publication available the same day at Apple Stores, the New York Times reports.
At the time, Ocean’s representative told Rolling Stone that a publication accompanying the new record would be dubbed ‘Boys Don’t Cry,’ but clarified that he hadn’t unveiled the album title.
Ocean had been working on the project since at least January 2013, the month he scuffled with Chris Brown outside a Los Angeles studio. Details were largely kept under wraps, but Ocean reportedly worked with producer giants like Pharrell Williams, Danger Mouse, Hit-Boy and Rodney Jerkins. In December 2014, rapper Lil B posted a Tumblr photo showing him in the studio with Ocean. “RARE photo of LIL B x FRANK OCEAN IN THE STUDIO TOGETHER!! NEW MUSIC COMING SOON! Collect this!,” B wrote.
The first glimmer of new music since Channel Orange came last November with the atmospheric, lo-fi “Memrise,” which he posted to Soundcloud. In January, the singer shared “You Are Luhh,” his soulful rendition of Aaliyah’s “At Your Best (You Are Love),” a 1976 Isley Brothers tune the late singer covered in 1994.
Ocean also wrote and recorded an original ballad “Wise Man” for Quentin Tarantino’s 2012 film, Django Unchained, though his contribution went unused after the director couldn’t find an appropriate spot for it in the film. The singer most recently co-wrote two songs, “My Willing Heart” and “Always,” on James Blake’s most recent LP, The Colour in Anything.
