"Pyramids" is a song by American singer Frank Ocean, released as the second single from his debut studio album Channel Orange (2012).

The song received highly positive reviews and was called epic in nature by several publications, who praised the ambition and scope of the track's length, along with the lyrical merit.

On June 8, 2012, Frank Ocean posted on his Tumblr a cryptic, almost two-minute video, promoting an unknown project which was titled Channel Orange.

[15] The following day Ocean posted that, "playing ‘Pyramids’ on the road is gonna be my favourite part" on his Twitter account, speaking about his promotional tour.

[18][19] The opening segment sports the "beautiful, warped R&B that Ocean has become known for", but from there the song transitions into a smattering of electro-house synths, Michael Jackson-influenced pop melodies, spaced out electronic segues, UK bass breaks, saxophone, and guitar solo courtesy of John Mayer.

"[20] The track is an "R&B odyssey" slinking from ancient Egypt, where wild cheetahs are on the loose and Cleopatra meets a "snakey doom", to the present day where "Frank is living that sleazy motel room life.

"[14] It serves as "another case where the production far outstrips the vocal work", with "clanging and chiming and choirs for the intro," a dance break toward the middle that sounds like it was "recorded in 2018", and a slow jam for the second half that closes the song.

[20] The track lyrically features intricate imagery that depicts a fantasy-like scenario, and the length gives the song the ability to change tempo with "patience, with suave, like a furthering of the foreplay".

[20] The single runs the gamut of Ocean's various influences, pulling from European electronic dance music and Prince's early 80s discography, notably Purple Rain.

"[28] Melissa Locker of Time called it a "tour de force" and "a ten-minute history of R&B, arcing from club thumping beats to a sultry drawn out jam with Ocean's voice veering from a velvety croon to an endearingly creaky falsetto.

"[29] Spin's Marc Hogan declared "this much is clear: Ocean continues to deliver songs that combine the narrative punch of a great singer-songwriter with the stylish flair of contemporary hip-hop.

"[9] John Hall of The Independent described the song as more new material from the "hardest-working man in hip hop" and that the "10-minute single works its way through every genre of contemporary pop, from club banger to slow jam.

"[30] Nathan S. of the DJBooth described the song as a sprawling affair, noting that it contains "hazy and ambient cut that manages to weave in soaring guitars and ‘90s funk synths.

"[32] PopMatters's Brice Ezell stated that all it takes is one listen to 'Pyramids', the shape-shifting opus of channel ORANGE to cement Ocean's status as one of contemporary R&B's vital songwriters.

[33] John Calvert of The Quietus called "Pyramids" a little "structurally ramshackle though never erratic, it's the type of massive album centrepiece that was inconceivable before The-Dream's stadium-R&B reinvented the genre as a mythological epic.

"[21] Jason Lipshutz of Billboard felt that the real triumph was Ocean's song structure: "verses and hooks collapse onto each other, rhymes pop up out of nowhere, and the singer acts like minutely balancing a 10-minute concept piece is no big deal.

"[34] Chris Richards of The Washington Post Company described the track as a "righteous funk opus that spans nearly 10 minutes", commented that it "is loaded with metaphorical riddles, drawing parallels between Cleopatra and a 21st-century prostitute.