Frank Ocean drops album 'Blonde.' It exceeds expectations, validates creative late-types

The day has finally arrived: Frank Ocean’s new album has dropped.

No, it’s not the much-hyped Boys Don’t Cry, because he can’t ever just meet expectations. There’s a visual album, pop-up stores and the final product, Blonde. By doing this, he gives validation to creative, late geniuses who you think are overpromising.

So let’s run through what went down in the past 48 hours:

• First, the visual album Endless was released on Friday, available to stream exclusively on Apple Music.
• Next, the video for “Nikes” was released early Saturday morning on Apple Music. The video played tribute to Trayvon Martin and southern hip-hop stars Pimp C and A$AP Yams.
• Then pop-up shops opened in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and London. Copies of an art magazine titled Boys Don’t Cry were handed out.

• And finally: Blonde dropped (it’s spelled Blond on the album cover and Blonde on Apple Music). The 17-track album (the first one is Nikes) credits Kanye West, David Bowie, Kendrick Lamar, Jamie xx, the Beatles, Beyonce, Tyler the Creator and more. The tracks include “Pink + White,” “Ivy,” “Mitsubishi Story,” “White Ferrari” and more. It will be available to stream on Apple Music exclusively for two weeks.

On his Tumblr page, Ocean wrote that he had “the time of my life making all of this.”

“Thank you all,” Ocean wrote. “Especially all of you who never let me forget I had to finish. Which is basically every one of y’all.”

Ocean’s album, initially titled Boys Don’t Cry, had been slated for release in July 2015. After a series of false starts and setbacks, Ocean teased earlier this summer that it would be released in July 2016. But after it was delayed again, and The New York Times reported it would be released on August 5th. It did not drop, and a source reportedly said Ocean pushed it back further after that report, to create more of an element of surprise.

Two weeks ago, Ocean began live-streaming himself cutting wood, leading everyone to wonder if this was all just an elaborate prank.

Now he’s given an excuse to your co-worker who delivers a genius project late. “What if Boys Don’t Cry had been released in July 2015,” he or she will say and now you will have no response.