Frank Ocean Just Launched His Own Beats 1 Radio Show -- Tune In Now
[UPDATE: During the first installment of Frank Ocean's new blondedRADIO show, an interview of Jay Z was aired, detailing the rapper-turned-mogul's take on radio play models. Read the full text below.]
Surprise! Frank Ocean's got a new radio show. In the wee hours of the night, the reclusive artist had only just peaked his head out for the first time since Blond(e)/Endless on the freshly-released Calvin Harris and Migos collaboration, "Slide." And now, Blonded, a Beats 1 show "presented" by Ocean, has just launched and is live at this very moment. The artist has yet to make an appearance on the show, but a few of his songs have already been played.
Both Blond(e) and Endless were released last year as Apple Music exclusives, which could mean Blonded is a step towards a more fruitful partnership, though we're not exactly counting on it. Ocean will hit the road this spring and summer for the first time since 2014. Peep the dates for those below. Hit the link tune into Frank Oceans blonded RADIO show.
>>Stream Frank Ocean's new blonded RADIO show (via Beats 1)
Full text of Frank Ocean's Interview with Jay Z:
"Take radio for instance. It’s pretty much an advertisement model. You take these pop stations, they’re reaching 18-34 young white females. So they’re playing music based on those tastes. And then they’re taking those numbers and they’re going to advertising agencies and people are paying numbers based on the audience that they have. So these places are not even based on music. Their playlist isn’t based on music. If you think a person like Bob Marley right now probably wouldn’t play on a pop station. Which is crazy. It’s not even about the DJ discovering what music is best. You know, music is music. The line’s just been separated so much that we’re lost at this point in time.
They have to revolutionize that thing, you know, be more progressive. I think with all the technology and where we are today, it’s definitely a more efficient way to get music out. Because it’s the whole idea behind having a festival that played all sorts of music. Because no one listens to music like that – you just listen to music more than ever. Back in the days there used to be hip-hop clubs. Like, specific hip-hop clubs. Now every club is a hip-hop club. Every club is a music club. You go in there, you’re liable to hear EDM, hip-hop, you’re gonna hear some soul, you’re definitely going to hear “Poison” around 2-3 in the morning.
It’s unfortunate because with, you know, technology and everything moving forward, we should, it should be a better way that the music, the musicians, radio, and these things that are supposed to be instruments for the arts, should exist. And it shouldn’t be about advertisement. And it shouldn’t be about—so the more times, you know, someone like yourself can bypass that, it’s better for the, for the arts. And it’s better for the audience ‘cause you have to have, like, a level of discipline and just a belief to put music out in this place where not everyone can. You know, people, like, they wanna shoot for that, and then they’re making music that’s not really conditioned to who they are [Frank says “right”], who they are so they can reach a certain platform."
Tour Dates:
May 19-21 @ Hangout Festial - Gulf Shores, AL
May 28 @ Gorge Amphitheatre - George, WA
Jun 11 @ Heaton Park - Manchester, United Kingdom
Jul 14-15 - Victoria Park - London, United Kingdom
Jul 28 @ Randall's Island Park - New York, NY
Jul 30 @ Burl's Creek Event Grounds - Oro Medonte, Canada
Aug 10 @ Slottsskogen - Uddevalla, Sweden
