( MORE: Coming Out In Hip Hop: Frank Ocean’s Powerful Moment) The tracks bounce between sultry slow jams like “White,” with John Mayer and “Pink Matter” (which puts André 3000 of OutKast fame to good use solidifying the chorus with his fast rhyming) to the poignant hymn “Bad Religion” to the whistle-laden track “Forrest Gump.” Ocean has a flair for crafting gripping songs and this album does not lack melodrama, featuring haunting melodies paired with driving beats and touching lyrics similar to the elusive brilliance of The-Dream’s Love Hate. While R&B artists such as Usher and Chris Brown have started to incorporate the influence of electronic dance music into their songs, Ocean remains resolute in his idiosyncratic style, while still bringing to mind old Usher, The-Dream and even Maxwell. The highly anticipated new album features Ocean’s emotionally rich, hook-filled tracks along with clever collaborations with Earl Sweatshirt, John Mayer and André 3000, all topped off with his ten-minute R&B opus “Pyramids.” On C hannel Orange Ocean crafts pure R&B, firmly distancing himself from the angry teenage hip-hop of Odd Future and even from his work on Watch the Throne. The lyrics elevate the album from being just another above-average R&B record to a brilliant release sure to top many “Best of” lists. But by coming out, Ocean also gives C hannel Orange a context in which his heart-wrenching lyrics and despondent songs draw attention to his struggle with identity, sexuality and encroaching fame. Given that Ocean’s announcement came a week before his new album dropped, it could be viewed as a publicity stunt. ( MORE: Frank Ocean: R&B Singer and Rapper Reveals His First Love Was a Man) In a hip-hop world that is not known for being particularly inclusive of homosexuality, this is big news. Afterward, Jay-Z, Beyonce and Russell Simmons all voiced their encouragement of the young star even Tyler the Creator, the notoriously ersatz leader of Odd Future, gave his friend a tweet of support.

He is gay, or perhaps bisexual-which might seem irrelevant except that he just came out on July 4, via his Tumblr, telling the world that his first love was a man. He’s a poster child of the free music generation-he gave away his impressive debut mixtape, Nostalgia, Ultra, via his Tumblr after feeling ignored by his label, Island Def Jam.

He has written tracks for Justin Bieber, John Legend and Brandy under his given name of Christopher “Lonny” Breaux. He was featured on Kanye West and Jay-Z’s critically acclaimed album Watch the Throne. He’s a member of one of hip-hop’s hottest and most controversial collectives Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, also known as OFWGKTA or, more succinctly, Odd Future. Follow Ocean isn’t a household name yet, but there are a few things you should know about him.

Channel orange review track by track