Contents:
- GAY OR BI? THE DANGERS OF LABELG FRANK OCEAN
- FRANK OCEAN: ‘I CRIED THE NIGHT I ME OUT AS GAY’
- IS FRANK OCEAN GAY? THE SGER OPENED UP ABOUT HIS S*XUALY
GAY OR BI? THE DANGERS OF LABELG FRANK OCEAN
" "Frank Ocean Com Out and Be the First Gay Rapper History. " 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.
FRANK OCEAN: ‘I CRIED THE NIGHT I ME OUT AS GAY’
" 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. 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.
IS FRANK OCEAN GAY? THE SGER OPENED UP ABOUT HIS S*XUALY
21 Great Gay Moments In Mic. On “We All Try, ” the third track om his 2011 but mixtape nostalgia, ULTRA, he voiced support for gay marriage four years before beme legal natnwi:. The night the album dropped, Frank appeared on Late Night Wh Jimmy Fallon to but the song “Bad Relign, ” which ntas the most overt discsn of a gay relatnship on the album.
Frank ma a brief but important return June 21, 2016 after the Pulse Nightclub shootg Orlando, Fl., when he spoke out agast stutnal homophobia our society wh an emotnal Tumblr post, reflectg a siar msage to that of “Bad Relign.
On the song “Skyle To, ” Frank returns to the ia of relig nmnatn of homosexualy while sgg about a sexual experience wh another man:. Frank was raised the South, where sayg someone has “sugar their step” or “sugar their tank” is slang for llg them gay. 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.