Where? What? When? These are three words that make up the questions that come to mind when the name Frank Ocean is brought up. Where is he? What is he doing now? When is his next album coming out?

His full name is Christopher Francis “Frank” Ocean, and before the recording the mixtape which gained him fame, he was primarily a ghostwriter. After Hurricane Katrina destroyed his recording facility back in 2005, Ocean moved to Los Angeles, California, where he worked for artists such as Beyonce, John Legend and Justin Bieber. He later joined Odd Future, a hip hop group for which he did his first performance at the 2011 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. In 2009, he signed a contract with Def Jam Recordings as a solo artist, and on February 18, 2011, Ocean released “Nostalgia, Ultra”, his first mixtape.

Then, in 2012, Frank Ocean released his debut studio album, “Channel Orange,” which was soon named best album of the year in HMV’s Poll of Polls, and earned six Grammy award nominations. In fact, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America, on January 30, 2012. According to riaa.com, “Originally conceived to honor artists and track sound recording sales, Gold & Platinum Awards have come to stand as a benchmark of success for any artist—whether they have just released their first song or Greatest Hits album.” “Channel Orange” is easily Ocean’s most widely known and most praised album to date, but will Ocean release a new album?

Yes, Ocean will release a new album, and although the name has been released (Boys Don’t Cry), the release date is still being speculated over. In April of 2015, Ocean released images on his tumblr page (frankocean.tumblr.com) in which two cover albums were seen in the pictures, both titled, “Boys Don’t Cry.” The caption says, “I got two versions. I got twooo versions…,” and the tags featured on the images are #ISSUE 1 #ALBUM 3 #JULY2015 #BOYSDONTCRYMAGAZINE. This led fans to believe that a new album was on its way. It was, until July passed with no album release and no sign of the mysterious, and MIA, Frank Ocean.

Ocean still has not made an announcement regarding the new album, but there are rumors that he is collaborating with other artists. In fact, producer Rich the Kid has confirmed that he is working with Ocean. According to radio.com, “Producer Rich the Kid added fuel to Frank Ocean’s album buzz by tweeting a picture of the two speaking on FaceTime. Rich the Kid captioned the picture, “Me X Frank Ocean…smh.”.”

 

There is no set release date and no official announcements made by Ocean himself, but 2016 is rumored to be the year of his next drop. Fans seem to be promoting the belief that it will be released this year. To keep up with rumors, news, and hopefully official announcements from Frank Ocean, you can visit frankocean.tumblr.com, or keep up with musically centered magazines and websites.