Frank Ocean has had quite an impressive year for a new-comer to the music scene. The r'n'b singer's debut album Channel Orange was received extremely well and given high praise by many outlets, and just recently, he received six Grammy nominations. This is on top of the controversy that surrounded him-- his coming-out letter of sorts to fans.
Ocean spoke to the Guardian U.K. recently on a bunch of topics, including the Grammy nods, if Channel Orange would be his first yet last album, and maybe writing a novel. Check out excerpts below.
On Grammy nominations:
"Of course awards matter. It's like a player in any ball league – NFL, NBA, whatever – you come up in these systems of organisation, and you can hate the league but, at the end of the day, you can't hate the championship. Music industry people – and, whether I like it or not, I'm a music industry person – that's the game I came up in. The Grammys are like the championship, and that's cool. It's cool to be recognised by your peers ... blah blah blah blah!"
On "Channel Orange" potentially being his last album:
"It could be. It could be it, if I flew next week and my plane crashed! It could be it if somebody walked along and shot me for my bracelet or something. It could always be it. The idea of recognising your strengths and using them in as versatile a way as you can is cool to me. I don't ever want to be caught up in a system of thinking I can do one thing cos that's just … that's just telling yourself a lie. But I do like to sing. I play piano every day. I enjoy that."
On writing a book:
"You know, I gotta answer those questions for myself day by day. I don't intend to stop making music. This isn't a faux retirement. It's no bullshit. I was just making music yesterday. But I do think – it would be fucking legendary if I just made Channel Orange last year, then put out a best-selling novel next year, then, you know, designed an arena in Stockholm in 2014! I don't know! You just do what you can and you have as much fun as possible, and love your life as much as you can despite the bullshit and all the expectations and shit. You just do what the fuck you wanna do at the end of the day, and don't give a fuck. As long as your intentions are solid, and about growth and progression and being productive and not being idle, then you're doing good in my book. "
