Frank Ocean Gay, Reveals First Love Was A Man, 'I don't have any secrets I need to keep anymore,' he says
R&B singer, Frank Ocean, recently opened up about his sexuality this week. The 24 year-old's announcement of being gay came around a similar time as Anderson Cooper's coming out. However, Ocean's report may have bigger consequences because his involvement in the usually anti-gay hip-hop world.
Ocean is behind the release of the single "Novacane." His self-released album, "nostalgia, ULTRA," made great waves among the critics as it was considered one of the best of 2011. The young artist is also part of the hip-hop collective--Odd Future and was featured in Jay-Z and Kanye West's "Watch the Throne" album last year. Since Ocean's announcement of being gay, many wonder how he could change the anti-gay sentiments of rap and hip-hop.
"I think it's definitely important and it really signifies that there is a changing of the face of hip-hop,'' Chuck Creekmur, founder of the website allhiphop.com, said.He also noted that Ocean coming out is "a sign of the times," considering Cooper's announcement and President Obama's endorsement of gay marriage.
On Wednesday, Ocean took to Tumblr to reveal personal information to his fans. He even tweeted a link to his post.
"4 summers ago, I met somebody. I was 19. He was too. We spent that summer, and the summer after, together. Everyday almost. And on the days we were together, time would glide," Ocean wrote.
In the end, Ocean concluded: "I don't have any secrets I need to keep anymore. ... I feel like a free man. If I listen closely. I can hear the sky falling too.''
"I don't believe that Frank Ocean revealing his gay experience at the age of 19 will cause a bunch of rappers to come out of the closet. I don't think that we're there yet. I do think that we'll see a lot of support for him. ... I think that it's a process,'' Creekmur said. "Just a few years ago, if this had happened, it could have marked the end of his career. This could mark the beginning of his career.''
Creekmur added that Odd Future is known for advancing and having forward-thinking. However, Tyler, The Creator, the leader of Odd Future, has been criticized for his anti-gay slurs in lyrics. Just last year, GLAAD, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, called him "irresponsible."
Nevertheless, Tyler took to Twitter to express his support for Ocean, saying that he was proud of him.
Now that Ocean has an album coming out on July 17, "Channel Orange," how will his recent confession of being gay effect sales?
"I think to it could work to his benefit," Creekmur suggested. "I think he'll definitely get more sort of praise and acclaim, and it will probably help his sales. But I think a lot of men will have difficulty singing his songs knowing they may have been penned to another man.''
Ocean disclosed that his Tumblr message was actually meant to be in the credits of his album. However, since many were questioning his sexuality, he decided to post it earlier.
"My hope is that the babies born these days will inherit less of the [expletive] than we did,'' he wrote.
