Frank Ocean's hiatus is finally over — and hallelujah to that. The elusive singer has released more than just a follow-up to Channel Orange: Last week, he dropped Endless, Blonde, and a zine called Boys Don't Cry.
A brief primer: Blonde is the 17-track album Ocean released via Apple Music. Endless is the 45-minute black-and-white music video of him building stairs. For several years, Ocean's sophomore album was rumored to be called Boys Don't Cry, but he announced that the name had changed shortly before Blonde 's release.
The zine Boys Don't Cry showed up at a few Frank Ocean pop-up shops over the weekend. Here's what we know so far:
1. The zine was handed out for free, but copies are already being auctioned on eBay. Prices are steep — between $250 and $1,000.
2. The zine comes with a physical copy of the album, according to Paper.
3. Boys Don't Cry features work from Kanye West, Tyler, the Creator, and other frequent collaborators.
The Boys Don't Cry features list. pic.twitter.com/TB4K6lnDu6
— Big Chai (@dharmicX) August 20, 2016
4. The zine features a beautiful intro from Frank himself: "I found it romantic, sometimes, editing this project. The whole time I felt as though I was in the presence of a $16m McLaren F1 armed with a disposable camera. My memories are in these pages, places closeby and long ass-numbing flights away," he wrote, as Paper reports. He went on to say that his teenage years were surprisingly among the best of his life. "Surprising, to me, because the current phase is what I was asking the cosmos for when I was a kid. Maybe that part had its rough stretches too, but in my rearview mirror it's getting small enough to convince myself it was all good. And really though... It's still all good."
5. Kanye wrote a poem called "The McDonald's Man." The images for this poem are literally photos of Kanye going on a McDonald's run.
KANYE WROTE A RAP ABOUT MCDONALDS FOR FRANK'S MAGAZINE, IM DEAD pic.twitter.com/qdr2Ub2YNs
— Jack Dudley (@duddersj) August 21, 2016
6. There are three versions of the cover for Boys Don't Cry.
I got three versions. I got threeee versions #blonde pic.twitter.com/c8F5bNoFlA
— Genius (@Genius) August 21, 2016
7. Tyler, the Creator also wrote a poem for it.
Tyler the Creator's "Tricolor" poem for boys don't cry magazine pic.twitter.com/GFJuqobptH
— frankocean (@boysdontcryco) August 22, 2016
8. If you didn't get Boys Don't Cry at a pop-up, don't fret! Frank's mom dropped a hint on Twitter that more copies might be available soon.
Don't Pay those ridiculous prices for the mags on eBay. Just hang tight a sec..
— katonya breaux (@katonya) August 22, 2016
9. Now, the whole Blonde vs. Blond thing: The artwork featured on Apple Music spells it as Blond. Apple Music lists the album as Blonde. In the video for "Nikes" (released after Endless but before the album), Frank said cryptically that he had "two versions." One is Blond, and the other is Blonde, which was packaged with Boys Don't Cry.
Blonde (the zine version) and Blond (the Apple Music version) have slightly different track lists. Instead of Blond 's "Nikes," "Be Yourself," "Self Control," "Good Guy," and "Close to You," Blonde has "Mitsubishi Sony" and "Easy," according to Spin.
Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
Here's Why Natalie Portman Won't Show Her Son Star Wars Anytime Soon
Jenna Dewan Tatum & Her Daughter Are Big Beyoncé Fans
Prince Jackson Writes Touching Tribute To The Late King Of Pop