Period.' But he would not adhere to these boundaries, and the album makes explicit his conflicting passions. People tried to call it R&B, but he resisted, saying, 'If you're a singer and you're Black, you're an R&B artist.

From rock bands to alternative-pop, Frank created a synergistic symphony which sounded like nothing anyone had ever heard before. With no attention from his label, Frank was left to his own devices, so he did what he knew best: He got inspired. Music genres were more precise, rap music was mainstream at that point but not yet as commercial and proliferated as it would be in the following years, and before social media and streaming became the industry-influencing giants they are now, labels still clung to archaic formulas of album releases, promotions, and press tours. Tricky Stewart, collaborator and award-winning-song-writer/producer in his own right, said, 'If that record was commercially released with proper clearance, I'm pretty sure you're looking at album of the year.' The album's avalanche effect on Frank's career is testament to the barrier-breaking sound which now defines Frank.Ģ011 was a different time. Nostalgia,ULTRA may be a collection of samples and sound-clips, but it's wholly original. This low-budget passion project would go on to make many end-of-year 'best of' lists, peaking the interest of Kanye West and catapulting Chris to the kind of fame that would have him leaving his old life, and old name, behind. Soon after, with the help of Tricky Stewart and other collaborators, Frank released nostalgia,ULTRA on his Tumblr page with no promotion. But who was this kid Chris? The label, unwilling to devote the time or energy to finding an answer, ignored Frank, leading him to join Odd Future, the weird-kid skate/rap collective with Tyler, The Creator. Breaux found himself in LA and, though a mixture of luck and talent, was signed to Def Jam with the help of Tricky Stewart.

Nostalgia ultra