In my opinion:

Frank Ocean has the kind of music that grows on you with repeated listens. Khalid is not a particularly bad artist by any means, but he’s like a more radio friendly and accessible Frank. Khalid has those industry plant vibes and his music is just more simple and surface level. This is kind of understandable considering how young he is, but the songwriting and artistic craft is not even close to Franks level. Khalid himself says that he wishes he were able to write the song Pyramids, and that it changed his life.

Frank Ocean became my favorite modern artist after the release of Blonde. When it first came out, I was actually disappointed. Now it’s on my all time albums list. How can you not respect that he recorded 50 different versions of White Ferrari? The man is so meticulous in the creation of his music, where as Khalid already has more songs on Spotify than Frank, despite starting his career in 2017.

Frank creates music that I would never imagine being able to come up with myself. When I listen to Khalid, that same illusion isn’t there. I can sense what angle his producers and him are coming from, and I can sense the demographic he’s targeting. It doesn’t feel as special or authentic. I don’t mean to be an art snob, but that’s just how I feel.

I’ve introduced many people to Frank and some of them didn’t fuck with his music at first. It’s the kind of thing you play while drifting asleep or on a trip one day and it clicks. Others can get attached immediately. I’m a weird person who likes to listen to one or two songs in heavy rotation as I explore an artists discography.