As mysterious as the R&B superstar Frank Ocean can be, he was very active in 2017. Previously, after his debut album, “Channel Orange,” he remained practically invisible for almost four years on social media.
It was not until July of 2015 that he would initially tease the public with his album. After releasing his highly appraised album, people expected him to once again go into hibernation without a trace of any new music.
He proved them wrong, however, when he played his new single, “Chanel,” on repeat for over an hour and a half on his Beats 1 radio station, “Blonded.” Ever since then, he has continued to release singles such as “Lens,” “Chanel,” and “Biking,” featuring Jay Z and Tyler The Creator. Providing even more to his fans, Frank was featured on lots of songs including “Slide” by Calvin Harris, “911 / Mr. Lonely” by Tyler The Creator, and “RAF” by A$AP Mob. After all of these new tunes for the fans to eat up, Frank’s radio station “Blonded” announced its last show, celebrating the one year anniversary to his sophomore album, “Blonde,” on August 27. Later in the show, he played his new single, “Provider.”
The best description that I could give to “Provider” is spacious, jazzy, and smooth. Frank uses auto-tune throughout most of the track, which compliments his heavenly raw voice that can be spotted shorty during the pre-chorus. The whole track itself just feels like it all merges together, despite its arguably oddly-timed chorus corresponding to the beat where he repeats “Feelings you provide.” After the first chorus passes, it breaks into a very dreamy bridge, which leaves us to absorb the gentle beauty of the instrumental.
All over the track there are some whimsical lines for example, “Is you a natural blondie like Goku,” and “‘Moonwalkin’, R.I.P. Stanley Kubrick,” giving the listener something to chuckle to.
What makes “Provider” so great is the synergy of his extremely angelic voice and the spaceless, colorful beat of the song.
I would say the weaker part of this song would probably be the main chorus. Although its mood and sound is fantastic, it just seems a little crooked side by side next to the rhythm of the beat. But that isn’t to say that it ruins the whole vibe of the song. As I said earlier, what makes this song so strong is how the entire piece just merges together and how the chorus just happens to do that perfectly.
Overall, this track had a great theme to it, and his voice compliments the very calm and patient melody. In comparison to the other singles Frank has released this year, this is definitely one of his solid ones. I wouldn’t give a score to a single track because the range is way too big so I would say that this is just a very great song to vibe to and chill out. I am looking forward to more Frank Ocean tracks before the year ends, but that’s being very optimistic. If he keeps up these never-ending sequences of good singles being released, he can surely make us extremely excited about his next album.