Frank Ocean releases Django Unchained scrapped track Wiseman

This holiday weekend, Frank Ocean delivered the perfect Christmas present to all his fans, a single track named Wiseman. The American R’n’B singer posted it on his tumbler page with the caption: “Django was ill without it.”

The caption makes reference to Quentin Tarantino’s latest film – Django Unchained – and the song written to appear on the screenplay’s soundtrack. It failed to make the final cut as Quentin Tarantino explained: “Frank Ocean wrote a fantastic ballad that was truly lovely and poetic in every way, there just wasn’t a scene for it.

“I could have thrown it in quickly just to have it, but that’s not why he wrote it and not his intention. So I didn’t want to cheapen his effort. But, the song is fantastic, and when Frank decides to unleash it on the public, they’ll realise it then.”

The song is an emotional tale and appears to be about the differences between good, bad and evil. The chorus, “I bet your mother would be proud of you,” is rather telling and awakening.

Tarantino’s soon-to-be-released motion picture must be fast-paced in relation to this tune as this neo-soul piece is slow and sensual. However the guitars on the track are laden with effects that liken them to the director’s films of the past and to past Spaghetti Westerns.

The song itself is a divine creation and could easily have appeared on Ocean’s official debut album Channel Orange, which continues to be one of the critically acclaimed albums of 2012. It has indeed been a great year for the Grammy-nominated performer – even able to turn misfortune to his advantage.

Verdict: ••••

Samuel Mensah

To listen to new track Wiseman click here.