The spiritual undertones of Frank Ocean

I dropped a Gut Reaction review of Channel Orange about a month ago, since then I had a lot of shit going on. I started doing yoga and integrated more vegan recipes into my meals (See what I did there?). My aunt introduced to the different chakras in our body. Sooner or later it clicked to me what Channel Orange was about.

You see, the Sacral chakra (also known as the Orange chakra) is associated with our emotional and sexual needs. It's based on the element of water. When we suffer a loss or feel emotionally isolated our sacral chakra is imbalanced. Thus, leading us to finding addictions to fill this void. So what the fuck does this have to do with Channel Orange?

......Channel Orange



 Chaneling Orange Chakra.

Frank Ocean comes off as a peaceful person who's not particularly religious, but more-so in touch with chakra and spirits. He writes with a tone of innocence and introspect in the age of Trey Songz and Chris Brown. Dont get me wrong, I like bitches and drinks.  The album's main themes are Pleasure vs. Purpose, Emotional Isolation, and Enlightenment.

Pink Matter and Monks perfectly summarize these concepts. In Pink Matter Frank questions the purpose of the woman's body, seeing as the woman's body is a common symbol for life Frank is questioning the purpose of life. Are we here to seek pleasure through women (or guys if you swing that way, swag) or are we here to create life? He indirectly addresses these questions throughout the album.

In Monks, he addresses our generation ability to treat music as a religious experience.

"mosh pits & bare chest 
stage diving sky diver 
spray the crowd with cold water 
now its mosh pits & wet tits 
i think i need a cold shower 
cool waters "

Frank uses his live shows to Channel his fan's orange chakra. Like I said before, the element of our orange chakra is water. He sprays the crowd with cold water, a double-entendre. People use music to escape, to fulfill them temporarily. 

Meanwhile in the second verse Frank basically proves my point:

"monks in the mosh pit 

stage diving dalai lama 
feet covered in cut flowers 
they mosh for enlightenment 
clean chakra good karma 
one with the water"

Clean chakra...one with the water. Frank refers to the musician as a Dalai Lama, an enlighten-er to the monks. The monks in the mosh pit are a reference to the music fans who go to the live shows. He feels he's spreading good karma by sharing his energy with his fans.

Meanwhile in songs like Super Rich Kids and Crack Rock Frank speaks on people dealing with emotional isolation, longing for love but instead using money, drugs, and sex as a coping mechanism for their void. It seems as if Frank is using extremes to hold a mirror to our faces as a society. Though we're not crack addicts or Super Rich Kids, most of use the pursuit of sex, money, and drugs to cope with our lack of love. No?

If you pay attention to Frank's lyrics you see a infatuation with water. From songs like "Swim Good", to the bonus track on Channel Orange "Golden Girl". Where Frank falls for a girl on a island. Even songs like "Sweet Life"

"Why see the world? When you got the beach?"

That could be interpreted two ways, either at face value as Frank being sarcastic. Or maybe Frank is saying why be mentally involved with the world when you could be one with the water. Channeling your Orange Chakra....

I feel like this is a perfect coming-of-age album for me. As I'm leaving religion behind and getting in touch with my spirituality this album connects with me as more than just a cd full of singles. 

Oh my god I felt so pretentious typing this.