Big Cats Frank Ocean Rarities Mixtape Cover
Type the words "Frank Ocean" into Google and the first fill-in words the search engine tries to feed you is "new album." This week marks three years since the release of Channel Orange, and even though spring brought us reassuring news of an imminent LP, so far we've been dealt nothing but radio silence. Now, with the hip-hop and R&B news cycles slipping into a slight summer doldrum, many are starting to whisper--is it about to happen? Are Miguel's assertions that he "makes better music" than Ocean a preemptive strike against a culture-crashing record that's due to drop at any moment? With hip-hop artists' modern affinity for eschewing release dates in favor of a midnight-hour surprise, many fans (and nervous bloggers) alike feel that every hot summer day that passes without a Frank Ocean release only ups the stakes.
Minneapolis producer, DJ and mixtape wizard Big Cats (aka Spencer Wirth-Davis) knows the feeling all too well and on his newest mixtape spins together rare and underappreciated Frank Ocean cuts into one seamless and smooth 25 minute affair. In a set that focuses on non-LP cuts and features like Alicia Keys's "One Thing" and Ocean's own one-off "Memrise," Big Cats uses some of the R&B prince's deeper cuts to show just how immersive his talent is. The mixtape's creator had this to say about the project:
"Frank Ocean is a really special artist. As a singer and writer, his peers are more Marvin Gaye and James Taylor than Miguel or Jhene Aiko. His songs are beautifully simple, catchy without being formulaic. He's been able to relate to the younger generation, teaming up with everyone from his Odd Future family, to Jay-Z and Kanye, to Alicia Keys, to John Mayer. While anxiously awaiting his new record (due out any minute now), I assembled a handful of my favorites from his previous records, plus one Lonny Breaux tune because it's so damn catchy."
Okayplayer is very proud to premiere "Ayo Frank Ocean, Let us Hear That New Shit Already," and we couldn't agree more. Few artists can pair such a brilliant ear for melody with the sheer bodily vocal power and crafty rhythms that Frank Ocean possesses. And with the keen pairing of "One Thing" alongside Jay-Z and Kanye West's "Made in America," along with a brilliant blend of the maximalist horns of "Oceans" into the mega-maximalist drums of "Crack Rock," Big Cats proves just how well he understands the man's work. We don't have any weekend plans, Frank--why not let us rock to the new new? Check out more of Big Cats's work here, and listen below.
Tracklist:
Frank Ocean - "Start"
Jay-Z & Kanye West - "No Church in the Wild"
Frank Ocean - "Novacane"
Frank Ocean - "Soul Caliber"
Frank Ocean - "There Will Be Tears"
MellowHype - "Astro"
Frank Ocean - "Goldeneye"
Alicia Keys - "One Thing"
Jay-Z & Kanye West - "Made In America"
Frank Ocean - "Swim Good"
Jay-Z - "Oceans"
Frank Ocean - "Crack Rock"
Lonny Breaux - "Done"
Frank Ocean - "Forrest Gump"
Earl Sweatshirt - "Sunday"
Frank Ocean - "Memrise"
