Math proves Frank Ocean is 21st century’s most influential artist

Background with math equations behind a logo for COMAP, director and sponsor of the MCM/ICM annual competition.

You’re part of the math; the math, the math, the math, the math. —Lonny Breaux, “Math.”

Frank Ocean is the most influential artist of this millennium, mathematically speaking.

An undergraduate trio from the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, beat over 16,000 teams from around the world at the 2021 International Mathematical Contest in Modeling by designing a quantitative way to evaluate any musician’s direct and indirect influence in both their own and other genres. The award-winning model ranked Ocean’s impact on the musical landscape above all his peers in the 21st century.

Read more at wm.edu, or download their student paper with a paid membership at comap.org, the website of the Consortium for Mathematics and its Applications.

Image of three students from the College of William and Mary in 2021.

W&M undergrads Ethan Shelburne, Clare Heinbaugh, and Stuart Thomas, “outstanding winners” from this year’s MCM, held online on February 4–8, 2021 (Photo: wm.edu).

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