Some of you may not know who he is, but you probably know his voice. He’s most likely been on one of your fave’s albums within the last four or five years. You have maybe even seen an article headline (or two or seven) asking where the hell his second album is. Yes. Today, I am talking about the almost mythical Frank Ocean.

He is not mythical, however. He is a real person and has released some beautiful music.

With the four-year anniversary of his debut album, Channel Orange, coming up and the possibility of his mysterious new project being released in the near future, I feel it is important to remind you good people about an overshadowed reason behind why the Frank Ocean hype is so real.

People talk about what a classic Channel Orange is all the time, but I don’t hear enough talk about the jiggyness of its prelude, nostalgia, ULTRA.

nostalgia, ULTRA. exceeds the standards of what mixtapes are and should be. Franklin Ocean provided us with quality originals and #tbt-esque interludes as well as classic covers and “freestyle”-type tracks. There are vibes from beginning to end.

When I was first exposed to nostalgia in 2011, I couldn’t play “Novacane” enough. At the time, the sound was so unique, and that still stands today. It is everything – groovy, haunted, melodic, narrative. It somehow manages to be upbeat and downbeat at the same time, like a disco for zombies. Please take a moment…

From top to bottom, Frank Ocean is giving us treats. “Songs For Women”. “Lovecrimes”. Brandy graced “Nature Feels” with a nice, sparkly background vocal. “Dust” still remains in my personal rotation. My dude even had James Fauntleroy spitting on the end of “American Wedding”, a cover of The Eagles’ “Hotel California”. (I may write about Fauntleroy on another post, but if you don’t know, I suggest you search that name and “Cocaine 80s” now. Google’s your friend, bruh.)

Out of the full list of nostalgia hits, it was “Swim Good” that helped thrust Frank into the spotlight. Soon after, the flame was fanned with the release of “Thinkin’ Bout You”, which Frank had originally written for Bridget Kelly. Frank ended up using his version of the song as a single, and it took off. Thus, the push toward Channel Orange began, and nostalgia, ULTRA. would soon collect virtual dust in the iTunes libraries of many. But now is the time to brush it off!

Get your nostalgia, ULTRA. fix (sans “American Wedding”) here. You won’t regret it.

This song is from Channel Orange, but I think it is necessary to include Frank Ocean’s SNL performance of “Pyramids” that is extremely nostalgic with all the arcade games PLUS John Mayer is playing guitar (!!). Tears in my eyes.