With an abrupt switch from pitch dark to harsh stadium lighting, the end-of-concert reality set in at Tyler, the Creator’s sold out show in Madison Square Garden. An army of thousands of glitter covered ants, wearing GOLF, Converses, Hawaiin shirts and cuffed Dickies stormed out of the pit to where I stood still, dumbfounded at the front row fence.

Suddenly I found myself caught up in a changing current, as a mob formed around the sound booth. In center floor, irritated security guards tried to out-scream loud teenagers with iPhones in hand, telling them to back up.

I got my first glimpse of his bleached hair through someone’s Snapchat screen, then another brief peek through the two rows of people in front of me, of him smiling out of the chaos with security. Like a dream, Frank Ocean was there and gone in an instant, I stood in awe that I had been in the same room as one of my favorite musical artists of all time.

Selling out Madison Square Garden is a huge accomplishment for any musician, so it makes sense that Frank Ocean would attend such a milestone show for Tyler, the Creator. Their friendship goes back before their mainstream success, to Odd Future, the rap collaboration group that boosted both of their their careers.

Other artists such as A$AP Rocky and Willow Smith made surprise appearances as well. But unlike other celebrities, Ocean is rarely seen in public.

Ocean usually shies away from the spotlight of the paparazzi and scandals that some artists are so dependent on for publicity. In doing so, he maintains a persona of mystery, of creative divinity that the general public could never understand. Ocean keeps the details of his life secret, yet still manages to navigate extremely vulnerable experiences and emotions that others can relate to through his lyrics. It’s interesting: the relatability of his music is the thing which causes fans to praise him and his work as somewhat of a deity.

As for publicity, Ocean tends to drop his projects at his own discretion, when he feels they have been perfected. Despite the abruptness with which Ocean drops albums, his work always gets the attention it deserves. The lack of promotion has not negativley affected sales: “Channel Orange” peaking at No. 2 and “Blonde” at No.1 on Billboard, two Grammys and the most loyal fanbase, to name a few.

The sheer act of dropping music unannounced gives Ocean and his work such leverage, creating an air of intrigue surrounding his methods and questions of future projects. Ocean’s trend of secrecy has even become somewhat of a meme. I will never forget the intense, “Where’s the album Frank?” tweets that peaked before the release of “Blonde” after four years from “Channel Orange.” I have no doubt these are bound to return as fans hit the three year mark since “Blonde” was release in August of 2016.

Another mysterious aspect of the singer is how rarely he plays live shows. Ocean has a history of canceled shows and festival performances, yet a phenomenon of interest still surrounds his potential live performances. Videos of his last live performance at FYF music festival in 2017 racked up thousands of views on YouTube. Despite a high demand from fans for a live tour, Ocean shows no inclination of supplying this, something that mystifies fans.

As a biased fan, I see Ocean as, quite possibly, one of the only artists, completely living and indulging in his craft. I believe he prefers to stay out of the public eye for the sake of living as normally as someone of his status can.

I think living this way allows him to continue having normal life experiences  that give him such rich material for his lyrics and work that he compiled before his fame. I have immense respect for the way he releases music — it shows he cares more about the content rather than profiting and fame

In terms of a new album, I’ll make a prediction — although I know no one will ever be able to find a formula, and I think this is how Ocean likes it.

With the four-year anniversary of “Blonde” approaching, I anticipate the next album will follow the four year pattern that occurred between the releases of “Channel Orange” and “Blonde,” and release around 2020.

There have been many singles released in the past year and a half, so we know Frank Ocean is actively making music. Four years may be how long he must live to have new experiences to write about, so hopefully finishing touches are currently being placed on a new record.

Whether or not he releases new work soon, Frank Ocean has already won millions of fans, including me over. Having even a microsecond of a real view of him was beautiful, but also reminded me that my favorite artists are regular people just like all of us.

So, wherever he is in the world, hopefully he is living beautiful, normal, experiences that he can turn into music therapy for millions of people. Now, all we can do is pray for these releases to come soon.