Frank Ocean And Four Other Let Downs
Boys Don’t Cry; Fans Do
The time is now 6:03 pm. Frank Ocean’s long awaited Boys Don’t Cry album has still not arrived. The album reportedly was set to drop exclusively on Apple music yesterday. Frank Ocean shook up the music scene in 2012 with his debut album, Channel Orange. He won two Grammy awards, sold millions of records and received massive critical acclaim. Frank Ocean quickly became one of the most sought after artists/songwriters/produces in the music industry. He even crafted hits for Beyonce, Brandy, Jay Z, Kanye West and John Mayer. Fans have since grown weary waiting for new music from him.
Fast forward to August 6, 2016. Frank Ocean has been promising the release of his sophomore studio album, Boys Don’t Cry, for well over a year now. There is a mysteries receipt of stamped dates featured on his website. August 5, 2016 was one of the dates stamped on that receipt. November 13, 2016 is also listed on that receipt. Time will have to tell the true story. Will fans stick around long enough to support him by then?
Frank Ocean isn’t the only artist that has promised new music and taken for ever (or never) to deliver it. Four other artists have kept us waiting for far too long.
Where’s My Detox?
Let’s be clear. Dr. Dre has no need to ever make another solo studio album again. However, his The Detox album was supposed to be released as far back as 2011. The Chronic 2001 was released ten years prior in 2001. Dr. Dre was reportedly not pleased with the album enough to release it. Straight Outta Compton on video and the Compton soundtrack will have to suffice as any new music from Dr. Dre. We can also still listen to some of his best music on a pair of Beats headphones too.
Still Killing Us Softly
Few artists that can still tour and maintain their credibility off of one album. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill was released nearly 20 years ago. Lauryn Hill was already a star as the front-woman of The Fugees. Her real stardom came when she broke away as a solo act. She has recorded an MTV Unplugged album, been featured on tribute projects (Nina Simone) and even released a few singles. There hasn’t been an official sophomore album, despite flashes of new music. Some fans believe Ms. Hill has lost her touch. She’s still selling out concerts worldwide singing songs from her heyday from over 15 years ago though.
The Never Ending Pep Rally
Missy ‘Misdemeanor’ Elliott hasn’t released a studio album since 2005’s The Cookbook. She has kept busy writing and producing hits for countless other artists. She released two singles, “9th Inning” and “Triple Threat”, produced by Timbaland. Fans thought a new album would soon follow. There was no such luck. Missy is now poised to take the industry by storm again, following her Super Bowl performance last year with Katy Perry. Plus, she has released two highly successful singles “WTF (Where They From) and “Pep Rally”. She has promised a new album soon. We’ve heard it all before though. Hopefully she follows through this time.
Rock Royalty Returns
Metallica is arguably one of the most beloved rock bands of all time. Their career spans over 30 years. The group wowed the crowd at this year’s pre Super Bowl show. The reaction they received proved that they are still Rock music royalty. Metallica made an announcement of a new album coming “soon” at that performance. However, Metallica has been hinting at a new album for well over 2 years now. Red Hot Chili Peppers and Blink 182 have both recently proved that there is still room for 90s nostalgic groups like Metallica to stake their claim. Let’s hope their new album releases before Christmas.
Who else would you like to see release their long awaited album this year?