Why Frank Ocean is a LYRICAL GENIUS! By: Chad Wood

    Frank Ocean was born on October 28th, 1987 in Long Beach, California. He spent his childhood and early teenage years in New Orleans, otherwise known as the city of music. Ocean began his music career as a songwriter, ghostwriting for artists such as  John Legend, Justin Bieber, and Beyoncé.  On February 16th, 2011 Frank Ocean released his first mixtape "Nostalgia, Ultra", which began to pick up celebrity attention. 

    For me personally, Frank Ocean's influence on me began on July 10th, 2012 with the release of his first official album, "Channel Orange." The naturally ability that Ocean has in regards to lyricism is unmatched in the music community. In just seventeen songs, he covers a multitude of different topics including: Problematic drug use,  conflicts and misconceptions with religion, and his own coming out story. 

    The song "Bad Religion" appears to be a conversation between Ocean and an assumed Arabic taxi driver. In Ocean's lyrics, he sets up a story of a man who is seemed to be running away from sin, and uses a cab driver as a make-shift therapist during his ride. The passenger suggests to the driver to, "outrun the demons could you?" To which the driver then references the Arabic phrase, "Allah Akabar." The passenger responded negatively to this phrase, when in reality it simply means that, "God is the greatest," and the driver was suggesting to confide in God and seek for His advice. In todays society, Islamophobia is such a serious problem, and it is often seen that the Quran and other Arabic phrases such as "Allah Akabar" is seen in such a negative light when it has a very positive meaning. If you wanted to extend it further, Ocean does also make a critique to religion as whole, but that is a whole other conversation to have. 

    Frank Ocean has such a remarkable ability to write a story with his words that could be interpreted in so many different ways it's remarkable. He tackles such powerful issues, and that was just scratching the surface in regards to the extend of Frank Ocean's lyrical ability. I urge all of you to dive into Frank Ocean's music and create your own interpretations of his lyrics.