Frank Ocean and Michael Uzowuru collaborate on new music

"Michael is a friend I talk to about where I’m at artistically very often," Ocean shared with NYT over the phone.

Producer Michael Uzowuru was recently profiled by The New York Times, shedding light on his relationship with Frank Ocean. 

Uzowuru, who has been associated with the Odd Future crew since 2009, contributed to Frank’s last two albums, Endless and Blonde. 

Recently, they have been collaborating on new music in Miami.

"Me and Michael’s careers exist post hip-hop — that genre, that culture, informs both of us greatly, but his appetite has grown; his vocabulary, musically, has grown so much over the time that I’ve known him," Ocean shared with NYT over the phone.

Along with Rick Rubin, Uzowuru is someone Ocean turns to when facing writer’s block. "Michael is a friend I talk to about where I’m at artistically very often," Ocean added. 

He also revealed that he reached out to Uzowuru while working on the Blonde standout “Nights,” saying, "I had all these ways of describing what the album was missing. Ultimately, I had to write it, I had to do it. But it did start in conversation with [Michael]."

Their relationship goes beyond professional collaboration; they share a close, familial bond. "I couldn’t love him or care about him more," Uzowuru told NYT. 

"I’m very grateful for him as a person outside of the work, so it doesn’t matter if we work. I don’t need to work with him because it’s so much bigger. He’s separate from everyone else. He’s family."

Frank Ocean hasn’t released an album since 2016’s Endless and Blonde. His last musical offerings were the two singles “Dear April” and “Cayendo” in 2020.