Frank's Track
"Frank's Track" | |
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Song by Kanye West | |
from the album The Life of Pablo | |
Released | March 16, 2016 |
Recorded | 2014 |
Genre | R&B |
Length | 0:38 |
Label | |
Songwriter(s) |
|
Producer(s) |
"Frank's Track" is a song by American musician Kanye West, which was added to his seventh studio album The Life of Pablo (2016) when updates were made to it on March 16, 2016.
Background
[edit]A track featuring Frank Ocean, the song originally served as the outro to "Wolves". The outro was separated into its own track on March 16, 2016, during the process of updates.[1] However, "Frank's Track" still follows "Wolves" seamlessly, still acting somewhat as an outro rather than an interlude.[2]
Within the same month that version of The Life of Pablo was released, before Ocean's vocals were transferred to the separate track from "Wolves", an alternative version of the song leaked online with him singing in the intro.[3]
Composition
[edit]There are no vocals by West on the track at all. Ocean solely sings over production from West, Cashmere Cat and Sinjin Hawke, hence the title "Frank's Track".[2]
Despite the song being an update to The Life of Pablo when it was separated from the original featuring track, no updates were made to it post-release, unlike other songs that witnessed updates.[4]
Critical reception
[edit]The song received rave reviews from music critics and listeners alike who praised Ocean’s moving vocals. Christopher Hooton of The Independent described Ocean's vocals on the song as a "stunning contribution".[5] Jake Indiana of Highsnobiety gave a highly positive reception towards the track with the question: "What does it say about our cultural addiction to Frank Ocean that he can turn in a 30-second long studio demo and it becomes an essential part of someone else's album?"[6]
Commercial performance
[edit]Upon the release of the featuring album, "Frank's Track" debuted at number 5 on the US Billboard Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart and never charted on it again.[7] It also debuted at number 168 in the UK, making the song the lowest charting track from The Life of Pablo in the country.[8]
Charts
[edit]Chart (2016) | Peak position |
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UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[8] | 168 |
US Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles (Billboard)[9] | 5 |
References
[edit]- ^ Minsker, Evan (March 16, 2016). "Kanye West Updates The Life of Pablo: Sia and Vic Mensa Back on "Wolves," Frank Ocean Gets Own Track". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
- ^ a b Dionne, Zach (March 16, 2016). "Kanye West's Reworked 'Life Of Pablo': Frank Ocean Gets His Own Song, Sia Returns". Fuse. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
- ^ Roth, Madeline. "Hear An Alternate Version Of Kanye's 'Wolves' Featuring Sia, Vic Mensa, And Frank Ocean". MTV. MTV Networks. Archived from the original on February 19, 2016. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
- ^ C.M., Emmanuel (June 17, 2016). "Every Change Kanye West Made to 'The Life of Pablo'". XXL. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
- ^ Hooton, Christopher (March 16, 2016). "Kanye West finally 'fixed Wolves' and it was much better before - listen". The Independent. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
- ^ Indiana, Jake (February 15, 2018). "Kanye West's 'The Life of Pablo': Every Song Ranked Worst to Best". Highsnobiety. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
- ^ "Kanye West Frank's Track Chart History". Billboard. Archived from the original on August 25, 2018. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
- ^ a b "CHART: CLUK Update 9.04.2016 (wk14)". Zobbel.de. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
- ^ "Kanye West Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Archived from the original on August 27, 2018. Retrieved November 27, 2018.