In the musical landscape of the 2010s, there was no artist like Frank Ocean.

An alumnus of seminal alternative hip-hop group Odd Future, (an entity from which peers and relevant names like Earl Sweatshirt and Tyler, The Creator also sprung out) Frank Ocean is a sweeter and more delicate counterpart to, at least, the two aforementioned artists. His contemporaneous hip-hop leans more in the R&B and alternative soul genres, his deeply personal and thorough exploration of life-long struggles, his upbringing and blooming sexuality being key elements of the effervescence of his music.

Channel ORANGE is, in a practical sense, the beginning of Ocean as a relevant artist in the musical landscape of the last decade. After releasing the mixtape Nostalgia. Ultra in 2010, which caught him some attention from the media and fans alike, his first album proper was as bold a statement as there were last decade. Released 10 years ago in July 2012, and being only one of two albums the artist has released, Channel ORANGE is an enjoyable, groundbreaking and solid record from front to back, bright and vulnerable at the same time.

I still remember the first time I listened to it. I also remember listening almost on a loop for a month ‘Super Rich Kids’, one of the most memorable songs on the album, which features Ocean’s fellow Odd Future alumnus, Earl Sweatshirt. But ‘Super Rich Kids’ groovy, pristine R&B analysis of privileged upbringing is just a slice of the outstanding technicolor cake Ocean somehow managed to put together in his first formal outing.

It’s engaging from the start. The vocal versatility of Ocean is evident as soon as ‘Thinking ‘Bout You’, an exceptional example of neo-soul balladry. The song is affecting and its message of still having feelings of an ex-lover is brightly expressed by Ocean’s turns of phrase which makes even more compelling. The album keeps you hood with songs like ‘Sweet Life’, a showcase of Ocean channeling the great Stevie Wonder by way of its sultry soul rhythm, passionate vocals and also, its lightly incisive critique of rich people being shielded of reality by their wealth.

At the middle of the album, appropiately Frank Ocean presented its centerpiece. A near-10 minute long progressive R&B, ‘Pyramids’ is a reflection upon the history of Black people, especifically Black women. Using Cleopatra as historical reference, Ocean succintly analyzes this history and even relates it to a failed personal relationship. The music is spellbinding, glowing synths coming at you like club beats in slow motion; the neon like atmosphere doesn’t minimize the effect of the subject and the song is more enticing thanks to that.

At this early stage in his career Frank Ocean seemed incomparable. His music, at the very least, was a compact agglomeration of the R&B nostalgia of the previous decade, the more emotional side of contemporaneous hip-hop and unforgettable neo-soul. At its best, Ocean shares with us a wide-reaching view of societal privilege, surrounded by instrumentation that never ceases to push forward. At times, while revisiting the album you may underestimate it, a full listen is always rewarding. Furthermore, it is safe to say that the release of Blonde may have had an impact on its appreciation, but it would be unfair to compare them directly.

On Channel ORANGE Ocean, while still wise beyond his age at the time, is still young, and this may seem inferior to the deep and intertwined nature of the more restrained and introspective sophomore album. Still, Ocean’s debut is constantly impressive. My process of revisiting it revealed more of its inner conjurings and its attractive presentation of musical ideas: There’s the marching beat of the drug discussing ‘Crack Rock’; the groovy ‘Lost’ is a nice continuation after the heavy ‘Pyramids’. Just before the end comes the ballad ‘Forrest Gump’ the song from the album that I most frequently put on in recent years. With heavenly organs, a subdued surfer nature and Ocean’s muli-tracked voice singing to his first love, it is a more than adequate coda for the record.

My experience with Channel ORANGE has been a whole trip. I chose it to be in my top ten records of the last decade for the great way the album comes to be thoroughly enjoyable while immersing you in a complicated interconnection of themes, ideas and narratives, most of which relate to unrequited love, sexuality, self-knowledge and the Black experience. Approaching is quite an activity that is significantly rewarded after a few listens. Glad to inform that in 2022, that is still the case.

The way this album is still essential speaks not only of Ocean’s talent but also puts into question how the artist made a name for himself with only one mixtape and two records. I wouldn’t claim to know what has he done since releasing Blonde in 2016, aside from a handful of singles, but that album was eagerly and famously awaited after only four years. Now that the count amounts to six years, Ocean’s next release is bound to be at the top of the hype charts. That is not a coincidence. Not matter how relevant Blonde became for the music landscape of the last decade, Channel ORANGE paved the way for Frank Ocean and most importantly, it presented music fans with a lonely, innocuous songwriter from New Orleans that has an impressive array of musical inentions to express his feelings and on top of that, a cluster of thoughts that demand to be manifested. Let’s just hope we get more of that soon.