Recently (read: within the past 48 hours), Frank Ocean, pretty much, trolled the Internet (again). Fans got excited when he updated his website to include live video feeds. The feeds have since gone dark, again, but it was a flicker in many a fan’s heart that said “hey, this album is dropping. Soon. I think. Maybe?” But, should we really even care anymore? I mean, it’s been over four years since channel ORANGE released.

When channel ORANGE dropped, I was going through it. My sons’ mother and I had been through a crazy breakup (read: emotional cheating is a thing; fuck what your friends say. I’m telling you, from first hand experience, that it’s a real thing that’s worse than physically cheating in some ways). And, me being the guy who speaks through music, I connected with this album. It probably also helps that, when I frequented strip clubs in 2012, one of my favorite dancers’d always dance to “Super Rich Kids” because, well, you know, you want to touch the super “rich” paintings and whatnot. Especially if they pay you back to touch them…but that’s neither here nor there.

I loved the album. I don’t see it being classic still (I’m still biased towards his nostalgicULTRA mixtape as the quintessential Frank Ocean masterpiece). But it was a solid album that was worth the wait. With that in mind, and its boundless replay factor, should we be waiting with baited breath for Boys Don’t Cry or whatever his next project will end up being called? Eh, yes and no. I say no because, even if he doesn’t drop BDC or whatever, we still got nostalgic and ORANGE from him, two solid projects that have many classic moments. I say yes because those albums seemingly only cracked the surface of what we could get from him.

The only fear I have is this. With the anticipation as high as it is, will we ultimately be disappointed? I mean, even Prince couldn’t properly follow up Purple Rain (let’s be real: Around the World in a Day was a great album. But, because of the lofty expectations we had from Purple Rain, it failed in a lot of aspects). So, what’s to say that Frank will top nostalgic or ORANGE?

That’s kind of the crapshoot about the album. It’ll be good. But, will it be great enough to justify the wait and/or justify placing it over his earlier stuff? Or will we get so caught up in the moment, the rapture, that we’ll just say “oh, ok. This is great” mainly because we’re that “starved” for new Frank Ocean?

Let’s hope this friggin’ thing drops soon, though. I’m tired of waiting.