Ever since a June 10th Tweet via the verified account of music producer Tunde June (@theycallmeTUNE) that simply read: “New Frank Ocean album. Next month. Palabra,” chatter has grown around the timing for delivery of Ocean’s sophomore album. Recently a track list popped up (see below) though its authenticity has been hotly debated, especially with no confirmation or official word from Ocean.
The question though is not whether a second album is coming, only when. Ocean himself confirmed on his Tumblr in March that he was “back to work these days,” and subsequently has added images of himself in the studio (like the recent shot above). He also skipped Coachella as promised on his Tumblr in April to “stay in the groove and finish this bitch.”
One could speculate that at this point the perfectionist Ocean is now just obsessing over details on the album because he has recently begun to perform again. He appeared this past week at Bonnaroo festival (pic below)–though granted didn’t offer up any new songs–and will be opening for Outkast this summer at Pemberton Music Festival, which takes place in British Columbia in July.
In the meantime to soothe your jonesing-for-new-Ocean-nerves, have a re/listen to a song below called “Hero,” that was launched in March and features Ocean, Diplo, and the Clash’s Mick Jones and Paul Simon.
[UPDATE] After this was published new emerged via Buzzfeed that Frank Ocean had fired his managers, Christian and Kelly Clancy, who he’s been working with since 2010. He has not yet named a new manager. He also let go of his p.r. company, Life or Death PR, and has hired Hollywood agency ID PR, whose clients include artists Alicia Keys and Paul Simon as well as movie stars like Jennifer Lawrence and Sean Penn. Some have viewed the changes as a distancing from hip-hop collective Odd Future, as the management and p.r. teams he just cut ties with came through his affiliation with Odd Future, which still retains those teams.
