Frank Ocean has dominated music headlines over the last week when he made an important announcement about his personal life and sexuality. Tonight he made his television debut on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and then promptly released his debut album, Channel Orange a week ahead of schedule. While the physical copies will be released July 17th, you can now purchase Frank Ocean’s new album via iTunes.
Already songs from the LP are leaking on the web, including his track “Pink Matter” with Andre 3000. I’m sure it’s leaked in full, with the interest to hear Frank’s music and this particular piece of work at a high. This will definitely make for an interesting Lollapalooza where Ocean will perform at the festival as well as an after party at The Metro.
This also clears the way for Nas to dominate on July 17th, when his own new album Life Is Good hits stores. That project is generating a tremendously positive response from fans and critics alike. Both of these high profile releases are coming via Def Jam, who made a smooth move in moving up Channel Orange to match demand, as well as giving one of the most revered and best emcees of all-time to have his comeback week solo. This is an example of the record labels further embracing digital music, momentum, and the speed at which to music can be released. Or, they just got lucky.
*Although I must say there are lot of great indie releases dropping on the 17th, especially Alchemist’s Russian Roulette.
Stream the album here.