Fans React to Frank Ocean’s ‘Blond’ Album

After countless false starts, music industry rumblings and four years of anticipation, Frank Ocean broke his silence and the Internet this past weekend (Aug. 20) by dropping his sophomore album Blond via Apple Music. The surprise release was preceded by Frank dropping a NSFW music video for the album's single "Nikes" earlier that day and giving his weary fanbase the old pump fake by releasing a visual album called Endless last week (Aug. 18). Ocean also released a magazine of poems and photography called Boys Don't Cry at random pop-ups in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and London in conjunction with physical copies of the album.

Like his debut album, 2012's channel ORANGE, the vibe of Blond is equal parts avant garde and relatable. With contributors spanning from Mike Dean, Kanye West and Beyonce to Elliott Smith, David Bowie and James Blake, the themes of the album include success, peer pressure, and lovelorn regret.

While fans online are already creating memes out of the visuals, fighting over the meaning of Andre 3000's stellar guest appearance and debating which song will stand the test of time, XXL asked Frankophiles online what their initial reaction to the music was. We asked listeners on Twitter to give us their first thoughts on the album, and let's just say results varied. While some fans think Frank is destined for another Grammy for his work, others believe the album was overhyped and not worth four years of waiting.

Check out how fans are reacting to Frank Ocean's Blond on first listen above. What do you think of Blond?