Alongside The Weeknd, Frank Ocean's found plenty of success throughout 2011, earning a GQ spotlight, slots on Kanye and Jay's Watch the Throne, as well as plenty of homes on "Best of" lists courtesy of his single "Novacane" from Nostalgia, ULTRA, and, due to his acclaim, as is proper, it's fair to nominate his banner track for some more accolades.
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Aside from being massively depressing, Frank makes a foul mouth sound sweeter than your usual R&B through his brand of crooning, and Tricky Stewart's production adds yet another morose element to provide the more macabre side of the drugs-for-love-lost genre. Tyler the Creator might have found eyes this year, but Frank Ocean's the only reason OFWGKTA aren't just another punked-up flashbang (even though they kind of are).
The Weeknd may be a little too avant garde for the mainstream at this point (I'm partial to the opposite), but Frank Ocean seems to be just what usual R&B needed, and it's difficult not to foresee a future bearing plenty of fruits as he continues to connect with major names in the hip-hop arena.
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