Frank Ocean Says Odd Future Inspires His Music, Talks Making of Nostalgia Ultra

Frank Ocean may just be an affiliate of OFWGKTA, but the singer/songwriter says he's inspired plenty by the radical rap group.

"It liberated my thinking in some ways, creatively and in a sense of knowing that you can do a lot of it by yourself, not just the songs, but just taking control of your own movement," Ocean told the BBC about his connection with Odd Future. "I think we all change each other's paths. I don't know which law idea that is in Physics, but I don't think any of us can live without affecting one another."

Ocean also described the making of his famed mixtape, Nostalgia Ultra, as "a labor of love. It was like difficult to make. Not like writing the songs [or] arranging the songs. That had a level of difficulty, too. But just piecing together all the levels to do it at the level, the quality of records I wanted to make... But, it was a process I appreciate so much."

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While the collective mixtape was more of a difficult process, Frank Ocean says creating the single "Novacane" was more straight forward.

"It was, like, clear what I was trying to do," he explained. "I was just trying to connect or articulate visually the feeling of being numb. The feeling of wanting to feel something you can't feel. A lot of things can cause that numbing, but in the video it was some sort of topical aesthetic and a little bit of special effects."

Frank Ocean's second album — the first official release — is due this spring via Def Jam. —Gina Montana