The Right Kind Of Brownies 2011 interview with Frank Ocean

In 2011, shortly after Nostalgia, Ultra was released, The Right Kind of Brownies owner Mustafa Abubaker scored an interview with Frank Ocean while the singer was on a plane.

The blog is no longer active, but Romusa Media republished the interview in February of 2013.

In 2011, shortly after Frank dropped NOSTALGIA,ultra on the Odd Future blog, I downloaded it just before going to sleep. I got on the bus to Woodward and watched my life slow down as I hit play, listened to his music for the first time. I found myself completely and utterly enthralled with this artist’s ability to engage listeners with vivid storytelling, painting whole worlds with aural brushstrokes.

Naturally, I was keen on interviewing the artist. I could only listen to Swim Good for so long. I could only romanticize a living human for so long. At the time, my blog The Right Kind Of Brownies was doing very well. The story goes like this: I hit up Kelly Clancy on Twitter for an interview and then Frank himself. Frank had me circle back around to Kelly and 4 Strikes. When that didn’t work, I found myself pressed for time, suffering that syndrome of becoming successful when I’m young that’s so common amongst my now fellow 24 year old peers. So, I slid in Frank’s DMs and asked him for an interview. I can quote his response to the tee.

Good timing. I’m on a plane from ny to la. Send the questions to [redacted].

Here are a full pulls from the conversation:

TRKOB: For Nostalgia, ULTRA there was seemingly no hype, no promotion leading up to the release. Why is that, was it a conscious decision?

Frank Ocean: nobody likes hype. well, i don’t like hype. yes, it was a conscious decision. couple of my close friends actually thought i was out of my mind. thought i was “throwing it away.”

TRKOB: With all the co signs coming in (Diddy, Lupe Fiasco, John Legend, etc) how do you stay grounded? Especially after just being in the studio with Beyonce?

Frank Ocean: i’m not grounded bro. i’m bouncing all around this ****. hahaha.

TRKOB: Many are saying you could very well end up being the most commercially successful member of the group. What do you think your purpose in Odd Future is?

Frank Ocean: OF is comprised of gifted and talented american kids. we challenge each other. they challenge me for sure. whenever you’re in a circle that’s talented throughout, it makes less room for complacency. my purpose is to contribute to that productive environment as much as i can.

TRKOB: Favorite albums, movies, books?

Frank Ocean: ahh. i don’t play favorites. but i’ve seen that chris robinson movie atl over 50x’s though. and i’m a big harry potter fan. o & my favorite song in the world is prince “when you were mine”. i guess i do play favorites.

TRKOB: Where do you see yourself in a year?

Frank Ocean: better at piano. and more peaceful in general. i liked the questions.

Read the full interview here.

The Right Kind Of Brownies logo (2011)