Frank Ocean is responsible for not only releasing one of the best albums of the year with his debut LP Channel Orange (read our glowing review here), but the R&B singer has made an unprecedented move in the hip-hop world by voluntarily coming out.
Since publishing his July 4 Tumblr post, in which he revealed that he fell in love with a man when he was 19-years-old, Ocean has received support from his musical friends and peers Beyonce, Jay-Z, Russell Simmons, Drake, Tyler The Creatorand 50 Cent. Though Fiddy had vaguely suggested that Frank’s candid blog post may have been written in order to drum up publicity for his album, in an interview with UK’s The Guardian Guide, the artist reveals that the decision to come out was “about my own sanity and my ability to feel like I’m living a life where… I’m happy when I wake up in the morning, and not with this freakin’ boulder on my chest.”
By being true to himself and being able to freely discuss his sexuality with the public, Ocean looks to be the role model that he never had. “I wished at 13 there was somebody I looked up to who would have said something like that, who would have been transparent in that way,” he said.
The 24-year-old had planned to use his beautifully-written coming out story in the liner notes of Channel Orange upon its release, but decided to show it to the world early when music reviewers began to raise questions based on early listenings of his album.
“I knew that I was writing in a way that people would ask questions,” he said. “I knew that my star was rising, and I knew that if I waited I would always have somebody that I respected be able to encourage me to wait longer, to not say it til who knows when.”
“People are just afraid of things too much,” he said. “Sure, evil exists, extremism exists. Somebody could commit a hate crime and hurt me. But they could do the same just because I’m black. They could do the same just because I’m American.”
Ocean’s full interview will be published in the Guardian Guide on Saturday.
[Via The Guardian]
good grief. No one talks the way he does. he just makes so much sense. I’ve never been so in love with a celeb.
hello gerry i shouldnt give it out but here is there contact
filling address ,ring them for advice ,just say I put you on
Who is he?
hi there tom if you are still in need of them here is the link
and details, they have a wealth of knowledge ,say martin netsims put you on
Awesome article. Great examples