“Changes” by Frank Ocean (ft. ROSALÍA)

As of the time of writing, scant verifiable information is currently available on Frank Ocean’s “Changes”, considering that this song was introduced to the world as a leak on 2 May 2023. 

This comes at a time when Frank Ocean is dealing with considerable backlash due to rendering a performance at the ever-popular Coachella Music Festival which some attendees deemed so poor that it bordered on being disrespectful to fans. 

So considering that this leak has been receiving some rave reviews, perhaps it can be argued that it came at an opportune time for the singer.  But others have noted that if this song were intended for an official release, this leakage will likely do Ocean more harm than good.

That said, there is no clear evidence when or if this track is to officially come out. As currently understood, “Changes” was leaked by one Hidji Films. According to one unverified report, the reason he did so is because its official release has been scrapped altogether.

Some keen-eyed fans have noticed that the slippers Frank is wearing in the video were to ones he also wore during his aforementioned Coachella set, which just transpired a couple of weeks ago. Furthermore, it has been reported that the clip sports a few celebrity cameos, including Slowthai and ASAP Rocky popping up on the scene. 

So the logical conclusion would be that this song was in fact meant to be released sometime soon, even though Frank also recently clarified that he’s not dropping an album in the near future.

So this can be taken as Ocean’s first collaboration with Spanish songstress Rosalía, albeit an unofficial one as of this writing. And the two of them co-wrote “Changes” with Michael Uzowuru, and it is Michael and Frank who also produced the track.

The Lyrics of “Changes”

This is a low-quality leak, so much so that no publication has been able to fully transcribe the lyrics. Such is the case with the first and second verses, as sung by Ocean.

Moreover the third verse, as rendered by Rosalía, is completely in Spanish, and there isn’t an official translation of it at the moment. Google of course does the best that it can, but songs tend to be such that there are intricacies which are better interpreted by actual people. 

But from what we can gather, this duet is not a love song. What the title alludes to, apparently, is Frank in particular apparently setting out to make some “changes” in his life, such as disassociating himself from certain friends. 

It may be that Rosalía is portraying the role of his ex. But given the challenges expressed above, it’s hard to make out the minutia of this narrative. What does appear clear, conclusively, is the vocalists expressing a willingness to support one another.

So it may be that this song will go on to be officially released, presumably sooner rather than later. Or else, fans will be forced to contend with a subpar recording and lack of full analytical support, such as an official translation of Rosalía’s contribution.

“Choices, changes, changes, changes, changes
Push away the people that you came with
If you want it, I can put you on it
If you need it, I can get you near it
I hope to know, I hope to know
I hope to know, I hopе to know“