Odd Future member and risg R&B star Frank Ocean announced tonight via his tumblr that he's bisexual or gay. The post, which was origally supposed to be the ler not for Channel Orange, his upg album, scrib the first time he fell love wh a man, and how he's alt wh the years sce. It's worth readg full - 's lked below - but here are some highlights:
Contents:
- FRANK OCEAN: ‘I CRIED THE NIGHT I ME OUT AS GAY’
- FUSE TV - TYLER, THE CREATOR KNEW FRANK OCEAN WAS GAY BEE OF HIS SNACK PREFERENC
- FRANK OCEAN IS GAY? FANS REACT AFTER LEARNG OF ALLEGED HOMOSEXUALY
- GAY OR BI? THE DANGERS OF LABELG FRANK OCEAN
- FRANK OCEAN GAY? RAPPER TALKS ABOUT MALE LOVER
FRANK OCEAN: ‘I CRIED THE NIGHT I ME OUT AS GAY’
* i frank ocean gay *
21 Great Gay Moments In Mic. Frank Ocean has said that he “cried like a fuckg baby” the night he me out as gay. The ‘Pyramids’ sger revealed that he was motivated to wre the post on Tumblr, which he said he was gay, after he Skyped to a Def Jam ‘Channel Orange’ listeng ssn and noticed one of the journalists was “very harmlsly” wrg a piece about how often he male pronouns songs.
While hip-hop and R&B, had been monly wrten off as herently homophobic, the rponse to Ocean’s emotnal letter was mostly posive, wh many praisg the one-of-a-kd talent for his bravens and honty.
FUSE TV - TYLER, THE CREATOR KNEW FRANK OCEAN WAS GAY BEE OF HIS SNACK PREFERENC
As a young gay Black boy who grew up stgglg to reckon my love for hip-hop, rap, and R&B wh the homophobic sentiments often rattled off, Frank’s g out was a pivotal moment — one that let me know I wasn’t alone and that society uld be ready to accept others like me, too.
Apparently, I wasn’t the only young gay Black boy who felt that sense of lmg support followg Ocean’s g out. Durg a recent holiday episo of Zane Lowe’s #AtHomeWhAppleMic show, Lil Nas X, an openly gay rapper himself, revealed how much Frank Ocean — and his close llaborator Tyler, The Creator, who is also openly queer — has meant for his reer. Ocean’s nfsn, which two days after Anrson Cooper‘s announcement that he is gay, sends a bold msage to the world of hip-hip, where homophobic ntent has equently been ndoned.
" "Frank Ocean Com Out and Be the First Gay Rapper History.
FRANK OCEAN IS GAY? FANS REACT AFTER LEARNG OF ALLEGED HOMOSEXUALY
" That last one is wrong on several levels: Ocean did not e the word "gay, " nor is he a rapper, nor would he be the first gay rapper if eher of those labels applied. Especially black mic, which has long been sperate need of a voice like Ocean's to break the layers of homophobia. " At, Jaah Lemix noted that while few urban artists openly embrace homosexualy, many are "the closet wh the glass door, " livg a life they don't reveal their mic.
"I hope that Frank Ocean don't bee 'the gay sger, ' for would be crimally unfair for him to wear that label as so many of his peers are sleepg wh and lovg same genred persons, while sellg imag of hyper-heterosexualy, " she wrote. Unlike the standard g out gture – newsman Anrson Cooper's public email to his iend Andrew Sullivan, "The fact is, I'm gay" — Ocean's prented sexualy as somethg that aris wh particular circumstanc, fed by shiftg sire and dividual enunters rather than solidifyg as an inty. There is a leage of Ain Amerin artists who've prented broar fns of sexualy through their songs and their public personali, as well, though homophobia has certaly kept many more om livg fully hont liv.
Gospel mic thory Anthony Heilbut's newly published book of says discs the impact of "the gay men of gospel, " om key mil archects like Jam Cleveland to crossover figur like Bayard Rt. (Kelefa Sanneh's 2010 New Yorker profile of the gospel artist Tonex explor how homophobia n impact an artist wh that muny. ) David Hajdu's bgraphy of De Ellgton's llaborator Billy Strayhorn shows how the lyricist's life as one of the few openly gay men mid-century jazz helped shape classic songs like "Lh Life.
GAY OR BI? THE DANGERS OF LABELG FRANK OCEAN
Though the "No Homo" meme rap tipped the discsn toward adolcent game playg and bigotry, even stubbornly straight pop scen, the trend is toward passn.
The ia that sexualy n't be saddled wh even one of our liberal labels is profound and beyond our culture's grasp on queerns — we haven't even gotten everybody on board wh the ia that gay is OK I nnot help but wonr if there somethg ls forthg behd his unwillgns to label himself. Says there's a stigma that exists for gay men, and he don't see himself that way.
FRANK OCEAN GAY? RAPPER TALKS ABOUT MALE LOVER
"I don't want to get ught up the whole gay culture bee people look at gay people as beg ls than a man, that you are this ls than, " he says. "The greatt taboo is to be black and homosexual, and I refe to be labeled and classified as this character.
Says men the black muny who e out and say, "I'm gay and proud, " are treated differently. "All of a sudn I bee: 'Oh, I want you to meet my gay iend, J. I want you to meet my gay brother, J.
I want you to meet my gay father, J.