“Nikes” is a critique of the trappings of materialistic hedonism, with frequent reference to Nike sneakers, shiny gold/glitter, and fantasies of pleasure. In an effort to summarize the entire album, Genius compiled every song biography written by its community to provide a road map of knowledge for listeners. These themes intertwine to create a nuanced album that is Ocean’s most vulnerable and personal project yet. Overall, the album’s concept explores falling in and out of love, with themes of self-love and hate, failed relationships, family, drugs, and depression. Then there’s always a part of me that remembers that this record lives past my being angry, and so do I really want to be angry about that? Is that feeling going to have longevity? Sometimes I want to talk on a song and be angry, because I am angry. Even though the pace of the album’s not frenetic, the pace of ideas being thrown out is…my point of view from one emotional state to another is a different point of view. Sometimes I felt like you weren’t hearing enough versions of me within a song, ’cause there was a lot of hyperactive thinking. In an interview with The New York Times, Ocean explained why he used different voices throughout the album: Her “clear and calm” eyes echo the album’s theme of youthful carelessness. In a Tumblr post, Frank wrote that he drew inspiration from a picture of a blonde-haired child in the back of a car. The second interpretation is the symbolism of blonde hair blondes are stereotypically thoughtless and carefree. Frank Ocean claimed he drew inspiration for the album from this picture.

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