Frank Ocean is back in the studio after 8 year hiatus

Frank Ocean gave a glimpse of himself in the studio on Monday (July 29), suggesting that new music may be on the way soon.

Image: blonded on Instagram Stories

Ocean is seen playing the guitar in a black Vivienne Westwood hoodie and cargo shorts in a photo he shared on his Instagram Story.

This isn't the only recent indication that new Frank Ocean music might be coming soon. Earlier this month, his frequent collaborator Michael Uzowuru mentioned to The New York Times that they have been working together in Miami.

Ocean told the NYT, “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.”

Uzowuru, who connected with Ocean during the Odd Future era, contributed to both of Ocean's 2016 albums, Endless and Blonde, as well as his 2019 singles "Chanel" and "In My Room."

Ocean also turns to Uzowuru in times of need, like when he experiences writer’s block. He mentioned to NYT, “Michael is a friend I talk to about where I’m at artistically very often,” adding that he reached out to him while working on his standout track "Nights" from Blonde.

“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].”

Ocean headlined the first weekend of Coachella last year but had to withdraw from the second weekend due to an ankle injury sustained during on-site rehearsals the previous week. This injury prompted production changes based on doctors' advice.

His Coachella performance was his first live U.S. show in six years. Additionally, it has been eight years since the 36-year-old artist released his last album, Blonde, which topped the Billboard 200 and the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts.