Frank Ocean Made Me A Conspiracy Theorist

A truth-obsessed Scorpio delves into why Frank Ocean’s headlining set at Coachella 2020 is likely more than it seems.

Written and illustrated by Emma Tanner

Frank Ocean is no stranger to popularity. With over 11 million monthly Spotify listeners, collaborations with major artists like Kanye West, Jay Z, and Travis Scott, and two Grammy wins to his name, he seems to fit fairly snugly into the standard delineations of a modern pop star.

And, yet, despite all the ways in which he coincides with the stereotypical A-listers of Hollywood, the recklessly rich, and the wildly famous, he is just about anything but. Throughout his career, Ocean has deviated from the standard implications of his fame and status in almost every possible way.

Only once engaging in a headlining tour, disregarding the music industry's looming pressure of “relevance” that forces artists to pump out an album every one to two years, consistently releasing records with 17 tracks instead of the standard 12, hosting underground pop-up shopping experiences, offering free merch to fans who possessed proof that they voted in the 2018 midterm elections, releasing new singles exclusively on vinyl records, live streaming 140 hours of his personal construction of a staircase as album promo, and even producing curated magazines as side projects, Frank Ocean’s ventures into the world of relevance are a direct sprint out of the realm of normalcy.

As an artist, Ocean says “f--- that” to the world, so heavily blurring the lines tying cultural popularity to societal conformity that he begs the question of why those lines ever even existed. He’s hardly predictable, innately elusive, and, in short, a wild anomaly.

Which is why what happened on January 2, 2020 was nothing less than an absolute shock.

It was that fateful Thursday that the Coachella 2020 lineup was released. And it was then that — nestled among fairly predictable (though undoubtedly exciting) artists such as BROCKHAMPTON, Travis Scott, and Lana Del Rey — Frank Ocean’s unmistakeable name appeared on said lineup. Not only was he slated to make an appearance at Coachella 2020, but he was listed as Sunday’s headlining act.

Spend 20 seconds on Twitter, and it’s obvious that this is a big deal. Devote 10 seconds to a Frank Ocean subReddit thread and it would seem as if those two emboldened words on the lineup graphic somehow managed to actuate the second coming of Jesus Christ himself.

Despite widespread popularity and an unabashedly devoted cult-following of “Frank fans,” Ocean has avoided traditional headlining tours in the past like they were the plague. An introverted superstar, Ocean only once embarked on a North American concert tour following the 2012 release of his debut studio album, Channel Orange. Even back then, Ocean’s not-so-discreet loathing of stage performance was made obvious in the cancellation of his tour-closing show. Since then, he’s garnered an infamous reputation for consistently cancelling both tour and festival performances, leaving fans to view a live gig as a joyful oddity rather than a realistic commitment.

He’s played at festivals before, sure, so a Coachella set might seem like a natural progression for a growing artist and well-loved name among music junkies and critics alike. But as one of the most recognized and glorified music festivals in the world, Coachella seems like the absolute last place a solitary soul such as Frank Ocean would want to find himself in 2020.

Surrounded by flower crowns, prepubescent vlog-stars, and influencers who reek of conformity, Ocean is definitely out of place in the social utopia that is Indio, California.

So, why Coachella? Why now? Why is this the first gig he decides to perform since 2017, the year of his last festival tour? As a Scorpio who generally likes to find the sensical answer behind things, I knew it just couldn’t be that simple.

There is absolutely no way the Frank Ocean I know and love would roll up to the stage at 10 p.m. on a Sunday night in California in October (now that the festival has been postponed among Coronavirus fears), play his hour long set accompanied by a few cool visuals, walk off, come back a week later and do the whole thing again. It’s too easy. It’s too … normal.

That wouldn't be right. That wouldn’t be Frank.

Frank Ocean doesn’t just create music — he produces art. Every track is a crafted story, every album is a lineation to another form of tangible creativity, and every song blends so seamlessly into the fabric of life that it’s as if it’s always existed there — because in some ways, it has. Every performance isn’t just a performance, but an experience.

I knew something was up. So I did some research.

In late 2019, Ocean released the singles “In My Room” and “DHL,” two surprise releases that sparked discussions of a new album in the works.

“DHL” was released on October 19, after it premiered on “Blonded,” Ocean’s very own Apple Beats1 Radio show.

Two weeks later, Frank hosted his PrEP+ club night in New York, where he played “In My Room” for the first time. Two days later, the single was released on Apple Music.

Following Frank’s usual minimalistic, psychedelic aesthetic, the corresponding cover art isn’t that out of the ordinary, except for one thing: the unusual figures placed along the bottom of the image. Look closely, and you’ll see the highlighted figure is an outline of Frank’s position in the featured photo. Look closer, and you’ll see there are 17 figures displayed — the exact number of tracks that Frank Ocean has released on his two previous (and only) traditional albums.

Looking at the similarly-styled artwork for “DHL,” the same figures are displayed at the base of the cover, but this time only 13 are present. Again, the highlighted figure is an outline of Frank’s pose in the featured photo. This pattern suggests that there are 17 individual tracks with 17 similarly-styled cover artworks. Though “DHL” only displays 13 figures, it could be that the artwork for the other four hadn’t been rendered at the time of its release, but were completed in time to be included in the graphic for “In My Room”.

17 figures means 17 songs. 17 songs means …

Obviously, I wanted to believe that I had cracked the code, that this was the answer, that a new Frank Ocean album would soon grace my yearning ears and make 2020 a little less of the absolute sh-tshow that it has been thus far.

But if I’ve learned anything as a self-proclaimed Frank-fan, it is to never get my hopes up, never accept things as they seem, and always stay skeptical.

So, I kept thinking. And then, I turned to the numbers.

Two. Two singles, released two weeks apart. Two Coachella headlining sets, two years since the last release of music, 2020 … there seemed to be too many coincidences to ignore.

And four. Ocean followed up his 2012 debut, Channel Orange, with Blonde in 2016. Four years out from that project, it seems we’re due for another release.

So, either this is all a ton of strange circumstantial evidence, or the CIA agent watching me through my phone might just call me in a few days with a job offer, because God damn, I’m good.

Okay, yeah, numbers, album art, cool cool … but so what?

Well, after much contemplation and a little too much Reddit deep diving than I care to admit, I came up with a little theory. A conspiracy theory, if you will.

Frank Ocean is going to release his next album during his headlining Coachella set on the second and final weekend of the festival.

There’s just no way he couldn’t. It would be the greatest mic drop of musical history, the most iconic album release party ever, the most Frank Ocean, go-against-the-grain-just-because-I-want-to move of all time.

There will be no multi-million dollar advertising campaigns hyping up the release to garner consumer interest, no slated release date, no expectations. Just enough attention and hopeful interest stirred up on Twitter and Reddit to get fans to attend to the set, curious to see just what exactly the R&B golden boy is up to.

It’s perfect. And it’s so Frank.

He’s done it before — very recently too. “In My Room” was a live release of sorts, and “DHL” premiered for the first time on live radio.

And if he sticks with the weird infatuation he has with the number two and its multiples, then it would make sense that he would release it during his second set — and really leave his time in the desert with a memorable conclusion.

If all roads lead to Indio, California — and this one looks like it’s heading there — then we just might be able to expect a Frank Ocean album sooner rather than later.

Alas, as the world-altering effects of the coronavirus pandemic have caused festival operators to postpone Coachella until October of 2020, both Frank’s (possible) plans for a Coachella-set release and my hopeful theory could be completely thrown off. I guess, as with all other things, we’ll just have to see.

No matter what happens, I really just hope he releases another project soon. Because as good as “Nikes,” “White Ferrari,” “Lost,” and “Thinkin Bout You” will always be, I need some new tracks to emo-bop to in this time of great emotional distress. Pretty please?

Afterglow ATXMarch 31, 2020