FRANK OCEAN, born on this date, is
an American singer, songwriter, record producer, rapper, photographer,
and visual artist. He is recognized for his idiosyncratic musical style,
introspective and elliptical songwriting, and wide vocal range. Music
critics have credited him with revitalizing jazz and funk influenced
R&B, as well as advancing the genre through his experimental
approach.He is considered a representative artist of alternative
R&B.
Ocean began his
musical career as a ghostwriter, prior to joining the hip
hop collective Odd Future in 2010. In 2011, Ocean released his
critically successful debut mixtape Nostalgia, Ultra and subsequently secured a recording contract with Def Jam Recordings. Drawing on electro-funk, pop-soul, jazz-funk, and psychedelia, Ocean's debut studio album Channel Orange
was one of the most acclaimed albums of 2012. It was nominated for
Album of the Year and won Best Urban Contemporary Album at the 2013
Grammy Awards, while the album's hit single "Thinkin Bout You" garnered
Ocean a nomination for Record of the Year.
Ocean wrote an open letter, initially intended for the liner notes on Channel Orange, that preemptively addressed speculation about his attraction in the past to another man.
Instead, on July 4, 2012, he published the open letter on his Tumblr
blog recounting unrequited feelings he had for another young man when he
was 19 years old, citing it as his first true love. He
used the blog to thank the man for his influence, and also thanked his
mother and other friends, saying, "I don't know what happens now, and
that's alright. I don't have any secrets I need kept anymore... I feel
like a free man." Numerous celebrities publicly voiced their support for Ocean following his announcement, including Beyoncé and Jay-Z. Members of the hip hop industry generally responded positively to the announcement. Tyler, the Creator and other members of OFWGKTA tweeted their support for Ocean. Russell Simmons wrote a congratulatory article in Global Grind in
which he said, "Today is a big day for hip-hop. It is a day that will
define who we really are. How compassionate will we be? How loving can
we be? How inclusive are we? [...] Your decision to go public about your
sexual orientation gives hope and light to so many young people still
living in fear." When
asked if he considers himself bisexual in a 2012 interview, Ocean
stated: "I'll respectfully say that life is dynamic and comes along with
dynamic experiences, and the same sentiment that I have towards genres
of music, I have towards a lot of labels and boxes and shit."
In June 2016,
following the Orlando nightclub shooting that killed 49 people, Ocean
published an essay expressing his sadness and frustration.
He mentioned that his first experience with
homophobia and transphobia was with his father when he was six years
old, and related how many people pass on their hateful ideals to the
next generation and send thousands of people down suicidal paths.
In 2017, Ocean's father subsequently sued him for defamation and
requested $14.5 million. In October 2017, after a hearing that saw Ocean
and both of his parents taking the stand, the presiding judge ruled in
favor of Ocean, stating that his father had not provided sufficient
evidence of defamation.
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