 Although Ocean had creative freedom for both projects , he felt more confident as a songwriter for Channel Orange and typed his lyrics on a laptop rather than composing in his head as he had done for Nostalgia , Ultra . Since transitioning from writing for other artists , he had been influenced by his " gloriously painful love life " when writing songs . For his lyrics , Ocean used both his past personal experiences and imagination to compose narratives for songs . He was inspired to write the song " Crack Rock " by stories he heard sitting in on Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous groups mentored by his grandfather , who also dealt with substance abuse in his youth . In an interview for The Guardian , Ocean expressed uncertainty about his penchant for darker subject matter , but speculated that " those were the colours I had to work with on those days . ... I mean , ' experience ' is an interesting word . I just bear witness . " 
