When McDonald's released packets of Szechuan sauce for one-day only in early October, customers flocked to the fast food chain by the hundreds, causing many locations to sell out. They were all Rick and Morty fans, and it was their Twitter harassment of McDonald's that spurred the burger company to bring back the 1998 limited edition sauce, if only for a day. Frank Ocean had some thoughts about the whole thing.
As part of his 32-page photo essay for i-D magazine, the singer-songwriter, and former member of the hip hop collective Odd Future, included a stream-of-consciousness essay featuring shout-outs to everything from positivity—saying "yes" instead of "no"—to that infamous flavoring: "I'll never know why or what's with campouts for Szechuan sauce at McDonalds. But I'm way into it."
in photos: frank ocean's visual diary of 2017: https://t.co/WAD7r06KGs pic.twitter.com/oGfGcJHBpT
— i-D (@i_D) October 23, 2017
Hard to say whether that makes Ocean a Rick and Morty fan, or merely a lover of the chicken nugget sauce. The 29-year-old would have been 11 at the time of its release.
With regard to his essay reference, Ocean likely saw a video uploaded to YouTube on October 7 depicting swarms of customers waiting in line, chanting, "When I say 'Szechuan,' you say 'sauce!" The police eventually cleared the rowdy patrons.
The sauce, first released back in 1998 in promotion for the Disney movie Mulan, is having a renaissance moment after becoming an ongoing jokes on Adult Swim's Rick and Morty. A subsequent Change.org petition received over 40,000 signatures requesting that McDonald's bring it back. That led the company to send the show's co-creator, Justin Roiland, a tub of the hot sauce; they then announced a plan to rerelease the Szechuan packets for one day.
Ocean spent the majority of 2017 on tour and performing at festivals around the globe. During that time he shot the photos included in the i-D essay. Since being on the road, Ocean has dropped a number of new singles, including "Biking," "Lens," "Chanel," "Slide on Me," and "Provider," all while manning his Apple Music show, blonded RADIO, which launched in February.
frank ocean for ID pic.twitter.com/8KsHOyHLzZ
— Spencer (@jitlegs) October 23, 2017
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Michigan native, Janice Williams is a graduate of Oakland University where she studied journalism and communication. Upon relocating to New ... Read more
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
