May 1, 2025 • 13 mins
Users on social media platforms have been acting Frank Ocean's "Solo" from his 2016 studio album, Blonde.
Dominique and Andrew discuss what might have sparked this trend, why Frank Ocean is such a pivotal artist for LGBTQ+-identifying people and André 3000's contribution to the accompanying "Solo (Reprise)" track from the album.
Tell us about your first listen via Instagram @AtFirstListenPodcast!
Subscribe so you don't miss an episode!
Dominique and Andrew discuss what might have sparked this trend, why Frank Ocean is such a pivotal artist for LGBTQ+-identifying people and André 3000's contribution to the accompanying "Solo (Reprise)" track from the album.
Tell us about your first listen via Instagram @AtFirstListenPodcast!
Subscribe so you don't miss an episode!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Yes, all right, recording there is my shot still okay?
Or did I creep in?
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (00:09):
You did that thing?
Speaker 2 (00:10):
If you move it as much as you can that way, Yeah,
that's better.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
Turn up?
Speaker 3 (00:22):
Do you want to do this one?
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Yeah? Welcome to at First listen to the music podcast
for people who don't always get the hype but want to.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
I'm Andrew, I'm Dominique, and.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Today we're talking about a little talk. We're today we're
talking talk about a social media trend having to do
with Frank Ocean and his song or his freestyle solo.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
So I'm I'm the resident Talk ambassador of the podcast,
and so it's my it's my it's my burden. It's
my job to find the trends that we talk about.
And I was scrolling away this past week, but especially no,
(01:10):
it's not enough, not good enough, exactly exactly like that.
Speaker 3 (01:15):
Rolling my hair out.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
It does not amuse me.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
Because I I do.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
I do find many songs that I like and that
the girlies and the kids are dancing to and enjoying.
But I did, I did try my hardest to find
one that I thought that Andrew, my friend, would listen to.
Because when I gave you the list. Last time you
said that you felt what was it annoyed? What was
(01:44):
the word you say?
Speaker 1 (01:45):
I think my first reaction was to be annoyed by
every single one of them.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
And I get that because.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
There is like this TikTok kind of like the sound
of like just really really high pitched audios that comes
with like the trending new songs that I do like,
but I wanted I was thinking what about Andrew?
Speaker 3 (02:09):
What would Andrew like? And I and this is.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
Saying there's like a low fi sort of yes consequence
of TikTok.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Yes yes, and like of of music that's like has
social media in mind, and as like the main way
of listening to it, and solo is a real song,
made for made for listening to. It was a part
(02:40):
of Blonde I Believe Yes Uh came out in twenty sixteen.
I this was a big year for me, Like I was,
I was in college. I was really listening to Frank Ocean.
I loved this album when it came out, and this
song I love especially because of the because of the
(03:01):
over three thousand freestyle. A reprise does that mean at
the end or the beginning?
Speaker 4 (03:10):
I think a reprise or reprise is okay music, it
would be at the end, so because you're reminding the
listener of an earlier section, okay, which I don't know if.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
That is actually what this is.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
I think it is.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
I think I actually I you know what, I don't know.
I in my head it's before. But if we ever,
if we go back and listen to this album, we
can see.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
Yeah, I don't know Frank oshin from a hole in
the wall, and in this artwork his hand is over
his face. I'm assuming the guy in this picture is him,
So I still don't know anything about him. Got you,
But I will check out this album because the full
version of the song is quite cool, and this freestyle
is very cool, and it's this is actually the part
(03:59):
the people are using is Andre three thousand?
Speaker 2 (04:02):
No, no, no, no, The part people are using is
is Frank Okay, that's the part of the very beginning, Yeah,
the very beginning.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
So should we play that?
Speaker 3 (04:11):
Yeah? All right, them give them a listen.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
So if you run across this on your feed, this
is what it is. Frank Ocean. Oh that was the
wrong part. That is the wrong actual the whole thing
was wrong.
Speaker 5 (04:28):
I'm dead and by myself gone on tabs that asked
form me a circle watch my jagger might lose my
jacket and hit a solo one time.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
That's the trend. So it's people like doing all those things.
It starts with throwing a towel and then like doing
silly dances and stuff.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
I feel like it, really.
Speaker 5 (04:55):
It.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
Somebody just like listened to the song a bunch and
they like thought about doing all those things and then
they decided.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
To just do it.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
I love like I love the I love the way
the acting out of silly stuff.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
Yeah, and it's people playing around with the scene setting
and like some people did it with like a puppet
and some people are doing it with like their friends.
That part. I sort of get a lot of the
videos that you send me. I'm just like, what am
I watching?
Speaker 3 (05:30):
Totally?
Speaker 1 (05:31):
Yeah, I don't know how you ran across this. I
don't know how this amused you. I don't know why
this was made in the first place. It's a lot
of people who are like in their bathroom or they're
in their bedroom. They are in a private place so
that other people in their house do not see the
(05:51):
weird thing that they're they're up to. But they are
then putting it on the internet for literally anyone to see.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
Yeah, it's great. Is that No, If it's bad, well okay,
I don't know what.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
Is bad mean anymore.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
But if people see it, that means that it was
good enough to be seen. So it's like, oh, okay,
my friends at school or my mom saw this embarrassing thing,
but it got a million views, so it's lit. We're stoked,
We're proud of it now. But I like, I think
that I was talking about that one of the categories
(06:29):
of of like TikTok trends are just songs where black
people heard it and remembered it and listened to it
again after a while and we're like, this is good.
And then it kind of like caught got caught on
and like picked up speed through the algorithm. Because this
(06:50):
is not this is this trend is about the song.
It's not using the song for like, you know, my
outfit's cool or whatever. It's literally being like, we like
this song, We're.
Speaker 3 (07:03):
Gonna act it out. Yeah, and it's kind of great
for that reason, and it's.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
Probably gonna make people listen to it and enjoy it.
So this is the other part that you wanted to
mention after twenty years in I'm So Now.
Speaker 5 (07:16):
Eva was under the im pressing that everyone wrote their
own versus that's coming by David. Yeah's your hurts me,
I'm Homan and wishlind to those not deserving.
Speaker 4 (07:21):
I stumbled and lived everywhere.
Speaker 5 (07:23):
Was I working just way too hot?
Speaker 2 (07:27):
So yeah, I like I said, I love this album
and this was one of the I think this part
was one of the things that made me love it.
We love a sign off from like Andre like and
this was this was twenty sixteen. You know, he's since
come out with the flute album. This was that moment
(07:49):
where he was kind of saying that.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Was the flute guy for anybody who listen.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
Yeah, the famous flute artist.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
He also had a song called hey non poor from
a long time boring. But he he, he came out
and said it straight up. He was like, I don't
know what these kids are doing anymore.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
Yeah, I'm just gonna play my food.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
Yeah I can still rap like crazy, Like I'm still
in the studio. I'm still a part of the music industry.
But if I make music that I think is good,
it's not gonna be popular. If I make the music
that's coming from my heart and so clearly he's gone
through the stages of grief, accepted that, and now he's like,
(08:33):
I'm not even touching y'all's thing.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
But he's also it kind of gave him a new
life as an artist because people respected that about him,
that he was going to completely free himself of the
like pop star label thing and just do the music
that he was interested in doing.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
And not come out, not start a podcast about how
these kids' music is bad.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
He went on one.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
He like he he knows that, Like I really respect that,
just knowing that times change, music changes. You're not gonna
like all of it or most of it. But it's
not necessarily your place. Nobody it's not your place, and
nobody wants to hear some old man some has been
(09:23):
because like for the kids that for some kids, they
really don't know who he is and they probably think,
heyaw's corny, and they probably think Roses is corny, which
it is. But that was the point, like, yeah, he's
he is a like camp. He's camp. He's not he's
not trying to be anything. And then that was that
(09:45):
was so perfect with Frank because Frank is such like
an anti music industry artist. He is, yeah, one of
those artists. I think people stopped even complaining about him
not coming out with music because they're like, Okay, he
just does don't make music really like he comes out
with an album if he wants to, where it's not
(10:05):
like Rihanna, where people are like, because she's in the news,
she's in the zeig guys, She's a.
Speaker 1 (10:11):
Clearly busy person who's focusing on other things and.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
Music exactly where is Frank. He's just out here being bisexual,
you know that. That's like, that's like the big thing
about Frank Ocean, especially with Channel Orange, was like back
when he first came out, it was like, oh, he's
a bisexual man making R and B. I guess it's
(10:36):
R and b uh, And it was pretty big news
at the time. You know, he walked so Lil Nas
could run.
Speaker 3 (10:43):
He and like.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
He's first of all bisexual artists. That's like, like, bisexuality
is still pretty uh not to you know, be the
bisexual eraser erasure person, but it is still pretty normal
to be like, oh, he's just gay or whatever, especially
(11:09):
if they're not like openly dating multiple genders.
Speaker 3 (11:14):
I think.
Speaker 2 (11:16):
Also because Buy is under the LGBTQ umbrella. It is
sort of like he's gay. Good good job, Andrew.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
So I look at the track listening for this album.
Solo is track five, Solo reprise is track ten.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
Okay, so it's like much later Yeah, cool, okay.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
And I love an artist with not a robust catalog
because if you get into them years later, you're not
like where do I go?
Speaker 2 (11:49):
No, it's very easy to two albums knock out. He
doesn't he Oh he has a few singles.
Speaker 1 (11:55):
Yeah, I see twenty one singles.
Speaker 3 (11:57):
Yeah, yeah, he has a handful.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
The single are not I don't think most most of
the singles are his best work, especially the first two.
It's another thing like, uh, you know, give it up
to an artist who doesn't like come out with a
bunch of bad music. He has two great albums. I
cannot guarantee that his other music would be up to
(12:22):
par if he kept coming out with with more and more. Yeah,
Chanelle is a great song. I really like that single,
But Novacane it's it's no people like it.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
It's fine. That was I think his first one.
Speaker 1 (12:33):
Well, I mean this went my appetite. I'm gonna check
out Frank Ocean.
Speaker 3 (12:37):
Yeah, do it and yeah, anyone else who that's real.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
Yeah, you're gonna check out Frank Ocean. That was our
first listen. That was Andrew's first listen, my one hundred
thousand listen. Tell us about yours.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
At first Listen podcast on Instagram. You can find and
Dominique and I separately on that platform. We're we're getting
around to YouTube.
Speaker 3 (13:05):
We'll see.
Speaker 1 (13:06):
Oh yeah, YouTube, it's a platform. We technically have an account.
Speaker 3 (13:11):
Oh yeah, watch out YouTube.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
Subscribe, I mean, if you can find it, subscribe to.
Speaker 3 (13:16):
Be the first.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
Yeah, we'll send you some merch Oh yeah, we ever
have a merchant. All right, thank you for listening. We'll
be back next time.
Yes, all right, recording there is my shot still okay?
Or did I creep in?
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (00:09):
You did that thing?
Speaker 2 (00:10):
If you move it as much as you can that way, Yeah,
that's better.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
Turn up?
Speaker 3 (00:22):
Do you want to do this one?
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Yeah? Welcome to at First listen to the music podcast
for people who don't always get the hype but want to.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
I'm Andrew, I'm Dominique, and.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Today we're talking about a little talk. We're today we're
talking talk about a social media trend having to do
with Frank Ocean and his song or his freestyle solo.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
So I'm I'm the resident Talk ambassador of the podcast,
and so it's my it's my it's my burden. It's
my job to find the trends that we talk about.
And I was scrolling away this past week, but especially no,
(01:10):
it's not enough, not good enough, exactly exactly like that.
Speaker 3 (01:15):
Rolling my hair out.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
It does not amuse me.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
Because I I do.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
I do find many songs that I like and that
the girlies and the kids are dancing to and enjoying.
But I did, I did try my hardest to find
one that I thought that Andrew, my friend, would listen to.
Because when I gave you the list. Last time you
said that you felt what was it annoyed? What was
(01:44):
the word you say?
Speaker 1 (01:45):
I think my first reaction was to be annoyed by
every single one of them.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
And I get that because.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
There is like this TikTok kind of like the sound
of like just really really high pitched audios that comes
with like the trending new songs that I do like,
but I wanted I was thinking what about Andrew?
Speaker 3 (02:09):
What would Andrew like? And I and this is.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
Saying there's like a low fi sort of yes consequence
of TikTok.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Yes yes, and like of of music that's like has
social media in mind, and as like the main way
of listening to it, and solo is a real song,
made for made for listening to. It was a part
(02:40):
of Blonde I Believe Yes Uh came out in twenty sixteen.
I this was a big year for me, Like I was,
I was in college. I was really listening to Frank Ocean.
I loved this album when it came out, and this
song I love especially because of the because of the
(03:01):
over three thousand freestyle. A reprise does that mean at
the end or the beginning?
Speaker 4 (03:10):
I think a reprise or reprise is okay music, it
would be at the end, so because you're reminding the
listener of an earlier section, okay, which I don't know if.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
That is actually what this is.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
I think it is.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
I think I actually I you know what, I don't know.
I in my head it's before. But if we ever,
if we go back and listen to this album, we
can see.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
Yeah, I don't know Frank oshin from a hole in
the wall, and in this artwork his hand is over
his face. I'm assuming the guy in this picture is him,
So I still don't know anything about him. Got you,
But I will check out this album because the full
version of the song is quite cool, and this freestyle
is very cool, and it's this is actually the part
(03:59):
the people are using is Andre three thousand?
Speaker 2 (04:02):
No, no, no, no, The part people are using is
is Frank Okay, that's the part of the very beginning, Yeah,
the very beginning.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
So should we play that?
Speaker 3 (04:11):
Yeah? All right, them give them a listen.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
So if you run across this on your feed, this
is what it is. Frank Ocean. Oh that was the
wrong part. That is the wrong actual the whole thing
was wrong.
Speaker 5 (04:28):
I'm dead and by myself gone on tabs that asked
form me a circle watch my jagger might lose my
jacket and hit a solo one time.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
That's the trend. So it's people like doing all those things.
It starts with throwing a towel and then like doing
silly dances and stuff.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
I feel like it, really.
Speaker 5 (04:55):
It.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
Somebody just like listened to the song a bunch and
they like thought about doing all those things and then
they decided.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
To just do it.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
I love like I love the I love the way
the acting out of silly stuff.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
Yeah, and it's people playing around with the scene setting
and like some people did it with like a puppet
and some people are doing it with like their friends.
That part. I sort of get a lot of the
videos that you send me. I'm just like, what am
I watching?
Speaker 3 (05:30):
Totally?
Speaker 1 (05:31):
Yeah, I don't know how you ran across this. I
don't know how this amused you. I don't know why
this was made in the first place. It's a lot
of people who are like in their bathroom or they're
in their bedroom. They are in a private place so
that other people in their house do not see the
(05:51):
weird thing that they're they're up to. But they are
then putting it on the internet for literally anyone to see.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
Yeah, it's great. Is that No, If it's bad, well okay,
I don't know what.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
Is bad mean anymore.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
But if people see it, that means that it was
good enough to be seen. So it's like, oh, okay,
my friends at school or my mom saw this embarrassing thing,
but it got a million views, so it's lit. We're stoked,
We're proud of it now. But I like, I think
that I was talking about that one of the categories
(06:29):
of of like TikTok trends are just songs where black
people heard it and remembered it and listened to it
again after a while and we're like, this is good.
And then it kind of like caught got caught on
and like picked up speed through the algorithm. Because this
(06:50):
is not this is this trend is about the song.
It's not using the song for like, you know, my
outfit's cool or whatever. It's literally being like, we like
this song, We're.
Speaker 3 (07:03):
Gonna act it out. Yeah, and it's kind of great
for that reason, and it's.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
Probably gonna make people listen to it and enjoy it.
So this is the other part that you wanted to
mention after twenty years in I'm So Now.
Speaker 5 (07:16):
Eva was under the im pressing that everyone wrote their
own versus that's coming by David. Yeah's your hurts me,
I'm Homan and wishlind to those not deserving.
Speaker 4 (07:21):
I stumbled and lived everywhere.
Speaker 5 (07:23):
Was I working just way too hot?
Speaker 2 (07:27):
So yeah, I like I said, I love this album
and this was one of the I think this part
was one of the things that made me love it.
We love a sign off from like Andre like and
this was this was twenty sixteen. You know, he's since
come out with the flute album. This was that moment
(07:49):
where he was kind of saying that.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Was the flute guy for anybody who listen.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
Yeah, the famous flute artist.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
He also had a song called hey non poor from
a long time boring. But he he, he came out
and said it straight up. He was like, I don't
know what these kids are doing anymore.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
Yeah, I'm just gonna play my food.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
Yeah I can still rap like crazy, Like I'm still
in the studio. I'm still a part of the music industry.
But if I make music that I think is good,
it's not gonna be popular. If I make the music
that's coming from my heart and so clearly he's gone
through the stages of grief, accepted that, and now he's like,
(08:33):
I'm not even touching y'all's thing.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
But he's also it kind of gave him a new
life as an artist because people respected that about him,
that he was going to completely free himself of the
like pop star label thing and just do the music
that he was interested in doing.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
And not come out, not start a podcast about how
these kids' music is bad.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
He went on one.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
He like he he knows that, Like I really respect that,
just knowing that times change, music changes. You're not gonna
like all of it or most of it. But it's
not necessarily your place. Nobody it's not your place, and
nobody wants to hear some old man some has been
(09:23):
because like for the kids that for some kids, they
really don't know who he is and they probably think,
heyaw's corny, and they probably think Roses is corny, which
it is. But that was the point, like, yeah, he's
he is a like camp. He's camp. He's not he's
not trying to be anything. And then that was that
(09:45):
was so perfect with Frank because Frank is such like
an anti music industry artist. He is, yeah, one of
those artists. I think people stopped even complaining about him
not coming out with music because they're like, Okay, he
just does don't make music really like he comes out
with an album if he wants to, where it's not
(10:05):
like Rihanna, where people are like, because she's in the news,
she's in the zeig guys, She's a.
Speaker 1 (10:11):
Clearly busy person who's focusing on other things and.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
Music exactly where is Frank. He's just out here being bisexual,
you know that. That's like, that's like the big thing
about Frank Ocean, especially with Channel Orange, was like back
when he first came out, it was like, oh, he's
a bisexual man making R and B. I guess it's
(10:36):
R and b uh, And it was pretty big news
at the time. You know, he walked so Lil Nas
could run.
Speaker 3 (10:43):
He and like.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
He's first of all bisexual artists. That's like, like, bisexuality
is still pretty uh not to you know, be the
bisexual eraser erasure person, but it is still pretty normal
to be like, oh, he's just gay or whatever, especially
(11:09):
if they're not like openly dating multiple genders.
Speaker 3 (11:14):
I think.
Speaker 2 (11:16):
Also because Buy is under the LGBTQ umbrella. It is
sort of like he's gay. Good good job, Andrew.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
So I look at the track listening for this album.
Solo is track five, Solo reprise is track ten.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
Okay, so it's like much later Yeah, cool, okay.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
And I love an artist with not a robust catalog
because if you get into them years later, you're not
like where do I go?
Speaker 2 (11:49):
No, it's very easy to two albums knock out. He
doesn't he Oh he has a few singles.
Speaker 1 (11:55):
Yeah, I see twenty one singles.
Speaker 3 (11:57):
Yeah, yeah, he has a handful.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
The single are not I don't think most most of
the singles are his best work, especially the first two.
It's another thing like, uh, you know, give it up
to an artist who doesn't like come out with a
bunch of bad music. He has two great albums. I
cannot guarantee that his other music would be up to
(12:22):
par if he kept coming out with with more and more. Yeah,
Chanelle is a great song. I really like that single,
But Novacane it's it's no people like it.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
It's fine. That was I think his first one.
Speaker 1 (12:33):
Well, I mean this went my appetite. I'm gonna check
out Frank Ocean.
Speaker 3 (12:37):
Yeah, do it and yeah, anyone else who that's real.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
Yeah, you're gonna check out Frank Ocean. That was our
first listen. That was Andrew's first listen, my one hundred
thousand listen. Tell us about yours.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
At first Listen podcast on Instagram. You can find and
Dominique and I separately on that platform. We're we're getting
around to YouTube.
Speaker 3 (13:05):
We'll see.
Speaker 1 (13:06):
Oh yeah, YouTube, it's a platform. We technically have an account.
Speaker 3 (13:11):
Oh yeah, watch out YouTube.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
Subscribe, I mean, if you can find it, subscribe to.
Speaker 3 (13:16):
Be the first.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
Yeah, we'll send you some merch Oh yeah, we ever
have a merchant. All right, thank you for listening. We'll
be back next time.
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Therapy Gecko
An unlicensed lizard psychologist travels the universe talking to strangers about absolutely nothing. TO CALL THE GECKO: follow me on https://www.twitch.tv/lyleforever to get a notification for when I am taking calls. I am usually live Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays but lately a lot of other times too. I am a gecko.