Frank Ocean is a significant figure for a variety of reasons. Since the Motown era, no R&B act has influenced the genre more than he has. Apart from his artistic accomplishments, he opened the road for upcoming singers by living the truth.
Frank first came to the attention of music fans in 2010 as a result of his work with the hip-hop collective Odd Future. Nostalgia, Ultra, his 2011 debut mixtape, established him as a top R&B prospect.
The Pyramid vocalist was signed to Def Jam Recordings long before he released the mixtape. In July 2012, he released his debut album Channel Orange via the New York-based record label.
Confirms His Sexuality
Several attendees at Channel Orange’s pre-release listening session in June 2012 interpreted several of the album’s songs as his manner of coming out. Frank revealed himself as a gay man, as had been speculated.
Frank came up about his unrequited feelings for a person of the same sex while sharing a TextEdit file on Tumblr. To quote him directly:-
“4 summer ago, I met somebody. I was 19 years old. He was too. We spent that summer, and the summer after, together. Every day almost… 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.“
For years, the Novacane hitmaker struggled with his sexuality. By his own admission, he was looking for an explanation for his homosexuality.
When former group leader Tyler The Creator learned of Frank’s decision to come out, he praised him for his courage. Def Jam, his label at the time, also expressed admiration for his courage.
Relationships & Boyfriend
Fans anticipated Frank would become more public with his dating life following the announcement. The singer of Self Control had other ideas. He protested in seclusion for the next seven years, using music as a conduit between himself, his boyfriends, and the audience.
Frank finally opened up about his love life in 2019. When questioned about his dating app use, he answered calmly about being in a three-year partnership. As predicted, he made no mention of the boyfriend.
Frank published a poem named Boyfriend in 2016. He gushed about his muse and his eccentric customs in it. Perhaps the poem’s theme is identical to the one which he referenced three years later.
Family & Age
Frank Ocean, 31, was born in October 1987. Although he was born in Long Beach, California, he grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana. He relocated to the West Coast following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
In terms of family, the No Church In The Wild singer has two siblings: Ashley Ellison, his elder sister, and Ryan Bureaux, his half-brother. He was reared in a single-parent household by his mother Katonya Breaux Riley, the inventor of Unsun Cosmetics.
Calvin Edward Cooksey, Frank’s father, abandoned the family when he was six years old.
Legal Dispute With Dad
Frank took to Tumblr in the summer of 2016 to write about a homophobic incident he observed as a child. He related how his father referred to a transsexual waitress as a fa**ot.
Unhappy with the claim, the singer’s father Calvin sued him in February 2017 for allegedly jeopardizing his financial chances in cinema and music. He requested damages of $14.5 million.
Frank defeated his father in court in October of that year. A federal judge in California found in his favor after the plaintiff (Calvin) failed to present adequate evidence to support his claims.
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