Frank Ocean Comes Out
For the first time I can remember, a hip hop singer has come out. Frank Ocean came out yesterday on his Tumblr when he said that his first love was a man. Frank said, "4 summers ago, I met somebody. I was 19 years old. He was too. We spent that summer, and the summer after, together. By the time I realized I was in love, it was malignant. It was hopeless. There was no escaping, no negotiating with the feeling. No choice. It was my first love, it changed my life."
It is some very powerful writing and I think this is the small step that the hip hop world needs to break through and show that it is ok to be a performer and be out. Frank Ocean's mentor is Kanye West. Kanye has been by his side every step of the way and must have known about Frank so it will be interesting to see how Kanye and the rest of the hop community react to the announcement. Russell Simmons was the first to step up and come to the support of Frank.
42 comments:
No idea who he is, but kudos to him for being so brave. Especially in his line of work which is predominantly homophobic, although half are so angsty because they have to stay in the closet.
So..... Kanye is Gay ??
Yeah no clue who he is but I think that's wonderful. I know many black men who are deeply in the closet, its sad but I hope this helps those who need it!
His biggest hit so far is Novacane. He was also featured on Jay-Z/Kanye's No Church in the Wild. Good singer, seems to be quite talented.
Good for him. If he has the talent and work ethic, who cares who he's sleeping with? Maybe it'll help the hip hop community become more progressive in this area.
Now if only Kanye and Russell could come out, but hey one step at a timee
Oh my heck, I don't Kanye and Russell playing on the gay team. We have enough drama already.
Well done Frank. I sincerely hope this works out for you and I wish you every happiness.
That said, I wouldn't be surprised if that moron 50 Cent tweets something ignorant about this.
Amazing. All the best to him. Hopefully his actions and words go on to inspire others to follow their hearts without fear of judgement or condemnation from others.
What a courageous thing to do. I hope the rest of the hip hop world follow Russell Simmons' lead and embrace Mr. Ocean.
I will be glad when gay people no longer have to come out, but just lived their lives and showed up on the red carpet with their date; and noone cared or asked about it or judged just accepted it.
@worstcompanytoworkfor I agree completely. I can't believe anyone cares. Really??? What is there to accept? I mean, big deal.
This must be the answer to the blind a few weeks ago. I thought it was going to be Miguel. Rumor has it he'll be coming out soon. Nevertheless, good for him. Very brave thing to do and I'm sure more celebs will support him.
Kanye needs to just come out of that closet already....
his Odd Future bandmates are dicks for real. I can't see him sticking with them for much longer. Their lyrics are filled with homophobia and misogyny....despite having two openly gay members.
if Kanye were gay, he'd be out already. people need to get off that rumour mill already. Just because a man has interest in fashion,design and art doesn't make him queer.
I just love love, and want everyone to have some in their lives.
I look forward to the day when we, as a society, can embrace, recognize, and rejoice in any and all relationships between two adults who have found love together. (Quite frankly, if they're all consenting adults, I don't care if three or six people find love together, but that's a topic for another thread.)
I am happy for him, he is a talented writer. This is a huge step (hopefully) for the hip-hop community. Lots of young men and women out there could use another example of bravery. I believe no one should ever have to come out and it is certainly fun to speculate, but when someone like Frank Ocean or the Silver Fox come out, I hope it puts one more dent in the homophobic curtain that surrounds the Entertainment Industry.
@ jax When you have an interest in arts, fashion and design, you don't have an interest for Kim Kardashian.
Love is love. Hope he will not be harmed because of his coming out.
If Kanye is gay, I just hope he comes out while in a "relationship" with Kim K. Can you imagine her trying to explain that?
@jax who is the other gay member of Odd Future?
I'm glad they didn't use this to their advantage when Tegan and Sara went full on internet war with Tyler the Creator.
Well said, @Frufa and @Big Mama
What a beautiful tribute to his first love, and such a romantic way to come out versus the standard "Yup, I'm Gay". I don't know why acceptance of the gay community keeps coming in stages, but at least it's coming
@Worstcompanytoworkfor - Love your comment - I have a daughter who came out and your comment gave me tears! I couldn't agree more! Thank you!!!
His words were beautiful and heartbreaking. I am so glad he freed himself. Kudos for Russell publicly having his back. I hope more powerful people in the biz publicly support him to promote love and not hate.
Good job, Frank. Your writing was beautiful as well!
I wish Frank Ocean nothing but good things. This must have been a tough decision and took considerable bravery given the homophobic environment of hip-hop. I think it remains to be seen how this will effect his release of music. I think it will be harder for him to be "mainstream" if people are homophobic and not buying his music. Happy, but sad.
oh, that explains the random twitter comments I saw yesterday. I had no idea what was going on or who people were talking about. Good for him, hope he's okay.
Omg Angela! That comment is gold!
I'm actually sitting here giggling!
Good for this guy. I have no idea who he is, but when I read what he wrote I was surprised at how powerful it was to me. Speaking as a gay man, what he wrote is what ALL of us go through. That moment when you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that what you didn't want to be true, was true.
I'll be keeping an eye on this guy and I hope it works for him. Go Frank.
@jax didn't Enty outed Kanye in a BI Revealed? The one about liking young guys with glasses?
@Angela, that was funny.
Good for him! Is Frank Ocean Billy Ocean's son?
Enty, the 'hop' community? Really?
No. OCean is his stage name.
I actually think Lil Wayne will be the next to come out.
There are a lot of gays/lesbians in hip-hop, especially lesbians = Queen Latifah, MC Lyte, Queen Pen, Missy Elliot just to name a few. As far as the men are concerned, the rumors have been for gay/bisexual = Kanye, Russell Simmons, Busta Rhymes, Will Smith. This is nothing new, anyone who actually follows the business knows who the gays/lesbians are.
@cojovo, Syd Tha Kid is the other gay member of Odd Future as well as the only female in the group. @NaughtyNurse, he is not related to Billy Ocean. It's disheartening to read comments on other sites that say his career is over. I really don't think so!
Kanye is actually kind of sweet for a guy with an ego that big. When Samantha Ronson was getting crap about her clothes, he went in and supported her. (not that she still isn't).
He knows what he likes, but he supports the people around him being who they want to be.
I honestly never heard of this guy before this news story broke and suddenly his name is appearing on every Blog I read and peruse on a daily basis, where before, nada.
This is Frank Ocean's post it it's entirety. I was blown away by his eloquent and sincere words. Human emotion at its finest. Good for you for feeling freed Frank, good for you.
"4 summers ago, I met somebody. I was 19 years old. He was too. We spent that summer, and the summer after, together. Everyday almost. And on the days we were together, time would glide. Most of the day I'd see him, and his smile. I'd hear his conversation and his silence ... until it was time to sleep. Sleep I would often share with him. By the time I realized I was in love, it was malignant. It was hopeless. There was no escaping, no negotiating with the feeling. No choice. It was my first love, it changed my life. Back then, my mind would wander to the women I had been with, the ones I cared for and thought I was in love with. I reminisced about the sentimental songs I enjoyed as a teenager.. The ones I played when I experienced a girlfriend for the first time. I realized they were written in a language I did not speak yet. I realized too much, too quickly. Imagine being thrown from a plane. I wasn't in a plane though. I was in a Nissan Maxima, the same one I packed up with bags and drove to Los Angeles in.
I sat there and told my friend how I felt. I wept as the words left my mouth. I grieved for them, knowing I could never take them back for myself. He patted my back. He said kind things. He did his best, but he wouldn't admit the same. He had to go back inside soon. It was late and his girlfriend was waiting for him upstairs. He wouldn't tell me the truth about his feelings for me for another 3 years. I felt like I'd only imagined reciprocity for years. Now imagine being thrown from a cliff. No, I wasn't on a cliff, I was still in my car telling myself it was gonna be fine and to take deep breaths. I took the breaths and carried on. I kept up a peculiar friendship with him because I couldn't imagine keeping up my life without him. I struggled to master myself and my emotions. I wasn't always successful.
Frank ended it with: "Thanks. To my mother, you raised me strong. I know I'm only braved because you were first ... so thank you. All of you. For everything good. I feel like a free man. If I listen closely ... I can hear the sky falling too."
@Jasmine
Thanks for posting Frank Ocean's post in its entirety. I stumbled upon it yesterday and was moved to tears a second time
Sunny- no prob. :) I was so moved after reading it. What a strong amazing young man he is. One of the best posts from someone coming out that I've ever read.
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