Throughout the history of pop music, there has always been an influential cultural icon for consumers to follow. From Elvis Presley to Michael Jackson, each generation has their own idol that has made an impact during each era. Of the numerous artists who can be considered when studying this idea of a "cultural icon," there is no better representative than Frank Ocean. Frank Ocean is an African-American queer singer who pushes boundaries of hip-hop music by being open about his sexuality and social injustice. Ocean recently dropped his second album titled “Blonde” and his first song on his album, ‘Nikes’, is a perfect example of how different parts of pop culture has influenced songwriting and music. ‘Nikes’ explores the ideas of materialism, love, cults and the systematic failings of the justice system in all under five minutes. The debates concerning the connection between music and public crises reveal just …show more content…
Frank can be seen lying among some guests thoroughly partied-out with the same purple sheet on him sporting the same Nikes. A normal person would assume he’s talking about just the shoe and nothing else. But, what Ocean is referencing to is the Heaven’s Gate Cult. This cult believed that Earth was going to be recycled and the only way of survival was to leave Earth immediately by committing suicide. But why do people join cults? Margaret T. Singer, professor of psychology at the University of California at Berkeley, said, ''The techniques of many cults fall under the general rubric of brainwashing.' cult leaders and their trainers exert a systematic social influence that can produce great behavioral change” (Collins, Glenn). The Heaven’s Gate reference adds a particularly strong comment to a song that already takes a swipe at consumerism, making an implicit comparison between a suicidal cult’s ideology and a life of vain pleasure