Ocean’s ‘Blonde’ ambition tops chart

FRANK Ocean’s (pic) long-awaited album Blonde opened at number one on the US chart in one of the year’s biggest debuts after the artist thumbed his nose at his label.

The genre-merging hip-hop star’s album sold 276,000 copies or the equivalent in downloads and streaming in the week through Thursday, tracking service Nielsen Music said.

The figure was the third highest for an album in its first week this year, although it was significantly below Drake’s Views and Beyonce’s Lemonade.

Like Drake and Beyonce, Ocean signed an exclusive arrangement, in his case with tech giant Apple, which made Blonde available exclusively on its Apple Music streaming service or for purchase on iTunes.

Ocean had won wide acclaim for his 2012 debut album Channel Orange, leading to an intense wait for his follow-up album.

Ocean performs in a unique blend of rap and R&B falsetto, with introspective lyricism known for its subtlety.

Blonde features cameos or collaborations with a range of influential artists from Beyonce to Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood.

Unusual in the often-macho world of hip-hop, Ocean has songs of relationships with other men and he has increasingly been seen as a gay rights icon. — AFP