Frank Ocean Nabs No. 10 Spot On ‘OUT’ Magazine’s “Power 50” List

Frank Ocean rounds out the top ten of OUT‘s annual “Power 50” list, which debuted Wednesday. Ocean is the only musician listed and he joins CNN’s Anderson Cooper, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow and Ellen DeGeneres in the top ten.

The magazine cites Ocean’s first-love letter on Tumblr (“I was 19 years old. He was too.”), plus his Grammy accolades as the biggest reasons behind his high ranking. “The impact this young R&B singer has had on popular culture in such a short period shouldn’t be underestimated,” OUT says, adding, “… the news that he’d also loved a man ricocheted around the world, garnering support from members of the hip-hop and R&B music communities, more usually associated with outspoken homophobia.”

OUT‘s “Power 50” list arrives nearly a year after Def Jam co-founder Russell Simmons said that Ocean’s Tumblr letter marked “a big day for hip-hop,” a statement that inspired others to repeat his sentiments. However, it also comes shortly after Snoop Lion told The Guardian that the hip-hop community still needs time to shift its thinking.

“It’s acceptable in the singing world, but in the rap world I don’t know if it will ever be acceptable because rap is so masculine. It’s like a football team. You can’t be in a locker room full of motherfucking tough-ass dudes, then all of a sudden say, ‘Hey, man, I like you.’ You know, that’s going to be tough,” he said.