On “Forrest Gump,” Ocean uses the 1994 movie of the same title as a vehicle to speak about unrequited feelings for his first love, putting himself in the shoes of the film’s female protagonist. “Pyramids” is a 10-minute cautionary tale about the disrespect Black women face around the world, starting with Cleopatra and progressing to the modern day. But just as Ocean shows us he’s fully capable of delivering what we expect, he reveals that he’s more interested in subverting our expectations altogether. On tracks like “Lost” (resurrected years later as a TikTok sensation) and “Thinkin Bout You,” Ocean proves he’s able to deliver a hit - the combination of sway-inducing percussion and relatable lyrics is catchy but avoids feeling formulaic. Though 2016’s Blonde has arguably eclipsed it in terms of influence and prestige, there’s a playfulness to Channel Orange, a breezily joyful experimentation, that draws me back again and again.

A hugely ambitious collection, the album deftly amalgamates elements of R&B, rap, electronic, and hip-hop, creating a sound that is uniquely Ocean’s own and would go on to influence countless R&B musicians from SZA to Solange. Earl was notably the only member of the Wolf Gang to appear on Channel Orange, and its sound was even more of a marked departure from the baseline Odd Future template than Ocean’s Nostalgia, Ultra mixtape had been the year before. Ocean had emerged as a member of Odd Future, a Los Angeles-based artist collective comprising Tyler, The Creator, Earl Sweatshirt, and Syd, among others, but Channel Orange marked Ocean’s foray beyond the group into a realm all his own.

On J10 years ago this Sunday - a then 24-year-old Ocean released his debut album, Channel Orange, to rave reviews. It was the summer, and everything was orange. The first time Christopher Edwin Breaux - the artist now known as Frank Ocean - fell in love, he was 19 years old.

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