So you consider yourself a singer/songwriter and not an R&B artist?

Frank Ocean: Absolutely.

What's the difference?

FO: The former implies versatility and being able to create more than one medium, and the second one is a box, simple as that. The second one is 'that's what you do, that's what you are', and that's a little unfair, to me, because I don't just do that. So I like singer/songwriter because it allows me to move a little bit more freely.

To reference more genres for instance?

FO: It's not about genre though. I think these days if you're a purist to a certain genre, I dunno, it feels a little dated to me. I think so many genres have rubbed off on each other all the time and… it's just dated. It's played out, it's over, it's done. Stop. Genres are like, I don't know unless we come up with a new system but I don't think you need that, I think in the arts, what do you need that for?

Why do you think genre is dated?

FO: Because I don't think it's accurate anymore. Because it gives me a dated feel, because it's not accurate to how people are feeling music these days. If I'm listening to - give me an artist - if I'm listening to John Mayer, what is that? He's giving me folk sometimes, he's giving me soul sometimes, he's giving me blues sometimes, he's giving me rhythm and blues sometimes, he's giving me pop structure. So, what is that? Is he rock just because he has a guitar? I think that's unfair to him, because he's doing a lot of things. Whereas some artists it might be totally accurate. If I was talking about Wynton Marsalis or Herbie Hancock… Well, Herbie Hancock it might be unfair to him sometimes, because he's versatile as well, but it's gonna be jazz. I'm sorry, I've gone off on a tangent, I'm gonna go off on a tangent about genres.

Not at all. I think it's really interesting. I have a slightly different theory though. No offence, but when I heard 'Novacane' I was like, well that's R&B, to me, even though it was like new R&B. I think that someone can belong to a genre and still come along and do something really different with it and change it, and it will still be… (starts laughing nervously)

FO: [Smiling] Well I disagree, but I'm about coexistence of ideas. Because when I hear 'Novacane' I hear a few things. If you take my vocal off of it I hear hip hop, I hear it in the storytelling… I mean, even when you leave my vocal on the record, if you just read the lyrics sheet - if you're really talking about R&B you're talking about everything from Marvin Gaye to Usher.

Ne-Yo.

FO: Or Ne-Yo. Yeah, exactly. And I've never read a lyrics sheet, from Marvin Gaye to Usher, that looks anything like the lyrics on 'Novacane' or the storytelling on there, and that's because I didn't take that kind of storytelling from R&B. I took it from hip-hop. If you listen to that record and you don't at least give a little bit of the props to hip hop and what came from that, then you're limiting it. And that's why I always say that about the genre thing, because that's what it does. When you say 'it's that', you listen to it in certain way. And you might not necessarily miss it, but it's just inaccurate, and you'll miss a couple of things, contextually.

It's interesting to think what makes people call you R&B as well, maybe it's your voice?

FO: I think maybe it's because my voice, maybe because I'm black, and maybe because of those, you know, two things.

Signifiers.

FO: Yeah. Because R&B is largely black music, and any guy that's in his 20s especially coming out and singing anything near that field of things automatically gets called that, because it's the first thing that comes to mind. I imagine it's the same here. I'm not from here so I don't really know how it is out here, and how people talk and radio and how things are marketed out here. But in America, it's the first thing that comes to mind. If you're a singer and you're black, you're an R&B artist. Period.

I think it's kind of the same here.

FO: Yeah. If I was singing 'Novacane'… Well, 'Novacane's a different record because it does borrow from R&B. But if I was of your complexion, singing 'Novacane', we'd be having a different conversation right now.

[Laughs] True.

Especially if that song was embodied in an album like Nostalgia, Ultra and I was your complexion, and I sang that whole collection, people would listen to it and be like 'Yeah, he borrowed from R&B but it's not just R&B - it's a lot of things, and you can't just call it R&B'. But for some reason their mind will just click to that faster. I'm not pulling a racial card and saying it's necessarily outright discrimination, but in a way it is. In a way it's a little bit of discrimination, but it's… It's something I don't mind checking every time I hear it. It's not really deep and personal, it's not like a diss or anything. It's just inaccurate.

spittin facts

don’t y’all get tired of arguing the same things lol

since when is this a common topic

at the moment maybe not, but I see exactly where this thread is headed

Wonder why people never accused Frank of “turning his back on R&B” despite making claims like these

here we go

😉

Jacquees better

There are R&B artists that are songwriters and obv singer lol

Just say you want to be called a singer. This s*** is corny af almost as bad as Rappers not being "Rappers" but theyre "artists" even tho Rappers ARE artists & most of them niggas were doing regular ass Rap s*** anyways.

Just a bloated & fake deep way of saying I like/doing/influenced by multiple things.

It also s***s on the genre/artists/audience they dont wanna be "boxed in" wether on purpose or not.

On the contrary

It’s black artists not trying to get boxed into urban categories like they love doing

Why even ask this question

Sometimes it feels genuine and sometimes it comes across as pretentious

so blonde and endless r&b to you? niggas don't get the freedom to not be compartmentalised

good for him or whatever i guess

i hate it when all black singers are categorized into r&b/rap when they dont make that kind of music. but at the same time it seems like some of these rappers and singers try really hard to seem different and special by saying "i do more than that!" as if its bad to be an r&b singer or a rapper.

it bothers me the same way "im not a rapper i'm a rockstar" does. like i get it but :/

that only happens because rappers try to gatekeep against anyone that isn’t “real rap” with double entendres in their bars

Like niggas be saying their not rappers they're rockstars or artists when all they do is croon rap over a plug n b type beat

But Im not A rapper

starts laughing nervously

You gotta deserve s*** like that because its an inconvenience. Frank deserves it

Did you not read what I fully said?

I said you can say that you feel like you do/influenced/like different things without s***ting on the genre/people or coming off pretentious.

I dont think genres arent that serious to begin with tho anyways, theyre just a logical way for people to organize n identify things its how our brains work. And if youre not gonna come up with a genre yourself then someone else will,

But you can still disagree without all the extra n superfluous thing.

I’m not really saying you’re wrong, but there’s ppl who use rnb/rap as an insult Bc it’s “black music” and that’s where most of these kinds of comments come from

Where the F*** did i said that dummy

Also Channel Orange def is which is what most people know him by so no s*** people think of him as RnB

Reread my statement tho i never gave an opinion on what i think he is calm down

he tryna says blonde is alternative pop・avant-garde soul・psychedelic pop ??

nah its rnb

I have never heard RnB as an insult

Rap yeah but thats by people outside the genre who really dont matter

But yeah i get what youre saying