''Frank'' is the debut studio album by American rapper

Fly Anakin Frank L. Walton, Jr (born July 9, 1994), better known by his stage name Fly Anakin is an American rapper and record producer from Richmond, Virginia. He is the co-founder of Richmond hip hop crew Mutant Academy. Early life Fly Anakin was raise ...

, released on March 11, 2022 through

Lex Records Lex Records is a British independent record label based in Camden, London, England. Style Lex has a varied musical output. Most releases are alternative hip hop, alternative rock or electronic. The label works with a small group of artists. ...

. The album features guest appearances from Pink Siifu, Billz Egypt and Nickelus F, as well as fellow Mutant Academy members Henny L.O. and Big Kahuna OG. The album cover image was created by photographer Timothy Saccenti and artist

Yoshi Sodeoka Yoshi Sodeoka is a Japanese-born artist and musician who has been producing art projects since the early 1990s. In 1989 he moved to New York City to study art and design at the Pratt Institute.Lex Records Lex Records is a British independent record label based in Camden, London, England. Style Lex has a varied musical output. Most releases are alternative hip hop, alternative rock or electronic. The label works with a small group of artists. ...

. However, the album was put on hold for multiple reasons, which included waiting on a feature from singer Liv.e and also working on the ''FlySiifu's'' album with Pink Siifu at the time. Fly Anakin would also delay the album further during the

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as he wanted to tour to support the album after its release. The recording for the album was eventually finished after the completion and release of FlySiifu's.

Reception

''Frank'' was met with critical acclaim. At

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, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an

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score of 84, based on 7 reviews. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' described the

Madlib Otis Jackson Jr. (born October 24, 1973), known professionally as Madlib, is an American DJ, music producer, multi-instrumentalist, and rapper. He is widely known for his collaborations with MF DOOM (as Madvillain), J Dilla (as Jaylib), ...

produced track "No Dough" as "a breakneck tour through everything that makes him a deeply exciting MC." ''

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'' described the album as "His most compelling work to date, each bar from Anakin feels essential, as though the world will stop spinning when he sets down the mic." ''

The Fader ''The Fader'' (stylized as ''FADER'') is a magazine based in New York City that was launched in 1999 by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. It was the first print publication to be released on iTunes. It is o ...

'' wrote that on ''Frank'' "his most tongue-twisting verses seem effortless, he knows how good he is — and he refuses to let anyone forget it." ''

The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quietu ...

'' described the lyricism: "There's no obvious world-building or self-contained story to give Frank the pomp and circumstance you might expect from a major breakthrough rap record in 2022, but he doesn't need one, the subtlety and detail of his songwriting does that on its own." Paste ranked the album at #47 in their list of the 50 best albums of 2022 so far, in July of that year.

Track listing

References

{{Improve categories, date=July 2022 2022 debut albums