Frank Ocean’s “Pyramids” is a nearly 10-minute-long tale of the ancient history of the Black woman and her gradual decline from a Queen in her homeland to her now degrading role in the Western Hemisphere. She is no longer revered but used & abused by men who would have died to protect her honor many centuries ago.

The song refers to the historical Cleopatra, who brought dishonor to her country by becoming Mark Antony’s mistress. Mark Antony was a conqueror who wanted Egypt as Roman territory, which is how they crossed paths.

Ocean narrates a similar happening with him and his woman. Now that she has become a traitor and left him for the enemy, her decision has backfired on her—she is not an entity of glory & honor anymore, but of dishonor. She is reduced to a common stripper who is now taking care of her man who has no job. It’s almost as if “the king” is karmically paying her back for her actions, as the narrator speaks of his woman stripping to “keep a nigga bills paid.”

But there is still some unhealthy love and devotion to one another because they remain together, and are a couple, so to speak. The song is a historical account of the Black man & woman in America and their slow fall from grace. Symbolically, from Gods to dogs.

“Pyramids” first appeared in a two-minute teaser video shared by Ocean in a since-deleted Tumblr post on June 8, 2012, promoting his upcoming album channel ORANGE; the promo announced the album’s in-store release date as July 17, 2012. Immediately after posting the video, Ocean shared an MP3 file of the song and an image with upcoming tour dates. Following the album’s digital release on July 10, 2012, Best Buy published an alternate 30-second version of the ad featuring branding from both Best Buy & Apple iTunes.