In a rare interview conducted by his Blonded Radio co-hosts Vegyn and Emmett Cruddas, Frank Ocean spoke to GQ magazine, on an eclectic mix of subjects; his vices, skincare routine, his decision to make his IG public, his cover songs, his move to New York City, and finally, his New Years Resolution.
Aligning with the artists’ enigmatic style, there was no mention of a new album or tour or any update on the Spike Jonze visual project. I guess we will have to wait until Ocean gifts us with another surprise project.
In the meantime, we do have access to peep his Instagram after Ocean surprised his fans by making his account, which dates back to May 2017, public in November. Ocean made his introduction to a wider audience by posting a mirror selfie with the simple caption “welcome.”
In the interview, the elusive singer-songwriter explained about his motivation to make his Instagram public, stating,
“I feel like there was dissonance between how I was seen by the audience and where I was actually, so that contributed to the decision to make my Instagram public, for sure. But there’s also the idea of dialogue and discourse and conversation — like theater, where the audience can interrupt you, versus the television.”
Ocean also discussed his recent activism in response to the Midterm elections and his decision to more explicitly politicize his platform. The singer-songwriter used his blonded RADIO episodes to boost voter turnout and encouraged fans to vote by offering free, limited-edition merchandise.
On making his move to the Big Apple, Ocean described how he has felt enthralled during his since stay in New York, and immersing himself in what he poignantly described as the “unsaid energy” that characterizes the city.
Plus, Ocean is relieved to have finally put a stop to his nomadic lifestyle, living from hotel to hotel room and finally finding a place to call home.
While New Year’s resolutions often involve gym memberships, finding a new job, acquire a new hobby or skill, Ocean admitted that his will carry over from 2018, revealing,
“I didn’t do my last one, to be honest with you. My last one was self-decoration, and I haven’t finished any of my jewelry, so I’m gonna carry that on to next year [2019].”
Releasing only a handful of song covers in his career, he explained to GQ that a song really has to speak to him in order to feel an Ocean interpretation is necessary.
“Nowadays, I have to live with the song for a bit and I have to see if it’s worthwhile to interpret it first. To see what I can do with it, where I can insert my voice. It’s much more deliberate than when I was just focused on the rap mixtape approach of taking a beat or flow, swapping the lyrics and performing it. The performance almost being the stream-of-consciousness, in-the-moment thing, whereas now I would much prefer having the song be with me for more time before I have to record it.”
He recalled his thought process behind covering Aailyah’s “At Your Best,” Stevie Wonder’s “Close to You” and Henry Mancini’s “Moon River,” made famous by Audrey Hepburn in the Hollywood classic, Breakfast At Tiffany’s. He recounted,
“[‘At Your Best…,]” I was at a party and it came on, and I had to sing it. With ‘Close to You,’ it was a similar thing, only without the nostalgia. I was living in a hotel, and I remember listening to it and being really nailed to the floor by Stevie Wonder’s interpretation of it. That version moved into my favorite-songs-of-all-time list, right there with Prince’s ‘When You Were Mine.’ I don’t know what creates that feeling of ‘I have to sing this song.’
On his most recent “Moon River” cover, he explained,
“Someone asked me to sing it, and that was the only reason I listened to it. People ask me to do a lot of things I don’t do [laughs], but when I listened to it, it was something that I wanted to do because I thought the song was small and beautiful and neat. It’s the ‘ocean in the drop’ idea, all these feelings inside this small thing. Living with it, listening to the many versions, thinking about who I would work on it with and what I would go for in interpreting it. Of the covers I’ve done, ‘At Your Best…’ and ‘Moon River’ are my favorites.”
In sum, what we learnt is that the R&B singer-songwriter is an avid moisturizer user and a “true believer of night cream.” Ocean admitted that he perhaps watches too much television and equated MSNBC with the hit-reality TV show, Love & Hip Hop.
Though he did reference Jonze, Ocean recalled the director’s advice for which bed mattress to purchase. And if you a curious, the mattress is called the Duxiana, and the luxury mattress retails at $7600. Gulp.
The singer-songwriter continues to remain tight-lipped about his ventures, opting to instead drop projects here and there online, sending his fans on social media into a frenzy.
