"Nikes" is a song recorded by American singer

Frank Ocean Frank Ocean (born Christopher Edwin Breaux; October 28, 1987) is an American singer and songwriter. He has been credited by several music journalism, music critics as a pioneer of the alternative R&B genre. Ocean has won two Grammy Awards and a B ...

. It was released on August 20, 2016, as the lead single from his second studio album, ''

Blonde Blond () or blonde (), also referred to as fair hair, is a human hair color characterized by low levels of eumelanin, the dark pigment. The resultant visible hue depends on various factors, but always has some yellowish color. The color can be ...

'' (2016), accompanied by a music video directed by Tyrone Lebon, exclusive to

Apple Music Apple Music is an audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users can select music to stream to their device on-demand, or listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the sister internet radio stations Apple Musi ...

. It is Ocean's first single since " Super Rich Kids", which was released in 2013. Ocean wrote the song with James Blake, producing it alongside Malay Ho and

Om'Mas Keith Om'Mas Keith (born December 20, 1976), also known simply as Om'Mas, is a Grammy Award-winning record producer, musician, composer, engineer, and songwriter from Queens, New York. He has worked with Frank Ocean, Erykah Badu, John Legend, Jay-Z, K ...

. Former

Dirty Projectors Dirty Projectors is an American indie rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2002. The band is the project of singer-songwriter David Longstreth, who has served as the band's sole constant member throughout numerous line-up changes. The b ...

vocalist

Amber Coffman Amber Dawn Coffman (born June 15, 1984) is an American singer-songwriter based in Los Angeles, California, formerly based in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York. She was formerly a guitarist for Sleeping People, and was later a guitarist and voca ...

contributed additional vocals. An extended version of the song featuring Japanese rapper

Kohh , formerly known by his stage name KOHH, is a Japanese rapper, singer, and songwriter. Early life Chiba was born in Oji, Kita, Tokyo, Kita, Tokyo, Japan. He was raised by a single mother along with his younger brother, a fellow rapper known as ...

was included on the physical CD release of ''Blonde''.

Critical reception

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' ranked "Nikes" at number 28 on their "100 Best Pop Songs of 2016" list: “As the first song on the most highly-anticipated album since

D'Angelo Michael Eugene Archer (born February 11, 1974), better known by his stage name D'Angelo (), is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He first garnered attention after co-producing the single "U Will Know" ...

re-emerged with '' Black Messiah'', "Nikes" was always going to be heavily scrutinized—but as a re-introduction, it worked brilliantly. Its first three minutes are delivered in a pitched-up approximation of a child's voice, picking apart the hidden motives behind the wants and desires of his subject with a sweetly-concealed irony, as a musical dreamscape gently glides underneath. It serves almost as a lullaby of sorts—which makes the transition to his "real" voice, arriving suddenly for the second verse, that much more effective. "Nikes" proved that Frank Ocean was back, and with a whole new set of emotions to get off his chest.” ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' listed "Nikes" on their ranking of the 100 best songs of 2016 at number 25.

Music video

The music video was released exclusively on

on August 20, 2016. It explores the concept of duality. Ocean's winged

eye shadow Eye shadow (or eyeshadow) is a cosmetic applied primarily to the eyelids to attract attention to the wearer's eyes, making them stand out or look more attractive. Eye shadow can also be applied under the eyes, on the cheeks, or to brow bones. ...

evokes a

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non- cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to ...

aesthetic while the cars symbolize

masculinity Masculinity (also called manhood or manliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles generally associated with men and boys. Masculinity can be theoretically understood as Social construction of gender, socially constructed, and there i ...

. While talking about the video in an interview with ''

The Fader ''The Fader'' is a magazine established in 1999 as an outlet for Cornerstone Agency, a marketing and public relations firm established by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. History and work It is owned by T ...

'', director Tyrone Lebon said; "The visuals came immediately when I first heard the song - they all follow from the music and Frank’s lyrics." The video features a

cameo appearance A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...

from American rapper

ASAP Rocky Rakim Athelaston Mayers (born October 3, 1988), known professionally as ASAP Rocky ( ; stylized as A$AP Rocky), is an American rapper. Born and raised in Harlem, he embarked on his musical career as a member of the hip hop music, hip hop coll ...

holding a picture of the late

ASAP Yams ASAP Mob (stylized as A$AP Mob) is an American hip-hop collective formed in 2006 in Harlem, New York City, that consists of rappers (most of whom carry the "ASAP" moniker; except Da$H and Playboi Carti), record producers, music video directors ...

. It also pays tribute to

Pimp C Chad Lamont Butler (December 29, 1973 – December 4, 2007), better known by his stage name Pimp C, was an American rapper and record producer. He was best known for his work with Bun B as one half of the hip-hop duo Underground Kingz (UGK). ...

and

Trayvon Martin Trayvon Benjamin Martin (February 5, 1995 – February 26, 2012) was a 17-year-old African-American from Miami Gardens, Florida, who was killing of Trayvon Martin, fatally shot in Sanford, Florida, by George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old Hispanic an ...

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

named it as one of the best music videos of 2016.

Personnel

– lead vocals, production, arrangement, additional programming * Malay Ho – production, arrangement,

Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which causes a length of magnetic tape to contact a Capstan (tape recorder), capstan, which pulls i ...

, drum programming *

– production, arrangement, drum programming *

– additional vocals

Charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{authority control 2016 singles 2016 songs Frank Ocean songs Songs written by Frank Ocean Avant-pop songs Song recordings produced by Om'Mas Keith