So Frank Ocean Is Gay

[SHOGUN]

His music is way too good to try and dismiss him over this. I'll just pretend he's writing from a female's POV and keep vibing.

[Realist]

His music is way too good to try and dismiss him over this. I'll just pretend he's writing from a female's POV and keep vibing.

I'm still going to listen to him because I think he is very talented and I hope it doesnt' hurt his career. I will be selective about it though.

I remember coming across a Neyo mixtake of unreleased tracks a few years ago and he was singing about guys. At first I was like "WTF is this about?" but I had a female friend of mine listen to some of the songs and I guess he wrote them for the female artist because she was familiar with the song and the words. For awhile, I just couldn't listen to those songs.

[NAHSTE]

Not sure why people care. Proud of him for being true to who he is, and anyone who tells you different is a fool.

On the real though, will be interesting to see if a Kanye/Jay or any other rapper with a name collaborates with him.

You mean the same Kanye who has always spoken up against homophobia in the hip-hop community? That Kanye?

[Rudi]

Mad props to him for coming out honestly. I wouldn't be surprised like some of you guys said to see more artists come out. It was going to happen eventually.

Does not change anything as far as his music is concerned in my book.

[MvP]

During a slow day at work I had some time to think about this situation. I might be exaggerating it in my head a bit but I think this is HUGE for the hip-hop/r&b culture as a whole and also for the Millennial generation. I can't really think of any other artist from my generation that has come out of the closet mid-career. There are always rumors of Ne-Yo, Dr. Dre, etc. being gay but nothing ever comes of it.

I believe Frank Ocean just broke a barrier in the culture. If this does not negatively alter his career, he will have paved the way for other artists to come clean about their sexuality. The fact that Frank is not flamboyantly homosexual certainly helps him here, too. Also, as the older generations, with their old-school, ignorant way of thinking, continue to fade into oblivion, the concept of "coming out of the closet" will not be the type of news headline it is today. Millennials appear to be more acceptive of this lifestyle.

---

In regards to Frank Ocean's music, it's inevitable that every time I listen to a new song of his from this point forward, I'll be listening closely to see if he is talking about a man. That's just the way it's gonna be. This could negatively impact my enjoyment of the songs, but for me, I typically don't listen to R&B for the lyrics or storytelling, I listen more for the vibes, feelings and emotions. Good vocals are more important than good lyrics to me in R&B, as opposed to rap in which the level of importance is about equal. That said, I still expect Channel Orange to be one of the best albums of the year, regardless of lyrical content that I don't necessarily support.

[BigBucs]

He picked a perfect era to do it in. A generation of emasculated kids wearing womens jeans and releasing albums named Im gay.

[Warner2BruceTD]

During a slow day at work I had some time to think about this situation. I might be exaggerating it in my head a bit but I think this is HUGE for the hip-hop/r&b culture as a whole and also for the Millennial generation. I can't really think of any other artist from my generation that has come out of the closet mid-career. There are always rumors of Ne-Yo, Dr. Dre, etc. being gay but nothing ever comes of it.

I believe Frank Ocean just broke a barrier in the culture. If this does not negatively alter his career, he will have paved the way for other artists to come clean about their sexuality. The fact that Frank is not flamboyantly homosexual certainly helps him here, too. Also, as the older generations, with their old-school, ignorant way of thinking, continue to fade into oblivion, the concept of "coming out of the closet" will not be the type of news headline it is today. Millennials appear to be more acceptive of this lifestyle.

---

In regards to Frank Ocean's music, it's inevitable that every time I listen to a new song of his from this point forward, I'll be listening closely to see if he is talking about a man. That's just the way it's gonna be. This could negatively impact my enjoyment of the songs, but for me, I typically don't listen to R&B for the lyrics or storytelling, I listen more for the vibes, feelings and emotions. Good vocals are more important than good lyrics to me in R&B, as opposed to rap in which the level of importance is about equal. That said, I still expect Channel Orange to be one of the best albums of the year, regardless of lyrical content that I don't necessarily support.

Wait, is "Millennials" really a thing?

[Houston]

He got that thuggin' luv.

[MvP]

Wait, is "Millennials" really a thing?

That was the first time I've ever used that term. It has practically become a buzzword at this point...Forbes and other business sites use it to describe the younger generation all the time.

[Lumpkin]

During a slow day at work I had some time to think about this situation. I might be exaggerating it in my head a bit but I think this is HUGE for the hip-hop/r&b culture as a whole and also for the Millennial generation. I can't really think of any other artist from my generation that has come out of the closet mid-career. There are always rumors of Ne-Yo, Dr. Dre, etc. being gay but nothing ever comes of it.

I believe Frank Ocean just broke a barrier in the culture. If this does not negatively alter his career, he will have paved the way for other artists to come clean about their sexuality. The fact that Frank is not flamboyantly homosexual certainly helps him here, too. Also, as the older generations, with their old-school, ignorant way of thinking, continue to fade into oblivion, the concept of "coming out of the closet" will not be the type of news headline it is today. Millennials appear to be more acceptive of this lifestyle.

---

In regards to Frank Ocean's music, it's inevitable that every time I listen to a new song of his from this point forward, I'll be listening closely to see if he is talking about a man. That's just the way it's gonna be. This could negatively impact my enjoyment of the songs, but for me, I typically don't listen to R&B for the lyrics or storytelling, I listen more for the vibes, feelings and emotions. Good vocals are more important than good lyrics to me in R&B, as opposed to rap in which the level of importance is about equal. That said, I still expect Channel Orange to be one of the best albums of the year, regardless of lyrical content that I don't necessarily support.

Honeslty I disagree, I don't think he's really breaking any barriers or paving the way for other artists. I think him coming out is more of a reflection of the increasingly accepting times in which we live. Coming out as gay or bi or whatever isn't as big as a risk as it was 15-20 years ago where it could mean career suicide. I'd even say that it's actually a pretty good move from a marketing stand point. As beloved as he is online and by critics and stuff, Frank Ocean really isn't in the "mainstream conscience." By coming out, (a few weeks before the new album drops) he has brought himself into the mainstream news and is getting his name out to people who have never heard of him. He is creating more buzz around his name and possibley bringing in a new demographic (i.e. the gay community).

Now the negative to this is that he could isolate some of his current fan base and lose some of his current supporters but honestly I don't see that happening at least not on a mass level. The people who are going to reject his music soley on the basis of his sexuality, probably already wrote him off as soft prior to this. For the most part his fan base will just continue to listen as long as he makes good music. And as for it hurting his working relationship with other artist, its possible that maybe a few big names avoid him because he came out, but if it ever came out publically they'd have a PR nightmare on their hands.

So in short, what I'm saying is he isn't really breaking down barriers as much as showing that the barriers of the past are already gone (or at least greatly weakend)

[NAHSTE]

I can't really think of any other artist from my generation that has come out of the closet mid-career.

Sup.

Wait, is "Millennials" really a thing?

Every Girls review I've ever read insists on calling "us" that, so yeah, I guess.

[Saluki]

Honeslty I disagree, I don't think he's really breaking any barriers or paving the way for other artists. I think him coming out is more of a reflection of the increasingly accepting times in which we live. Coming out as gay or bi or whatever isn't as big as a risk as it was 15-20 years ago where it could mean career suicide. I'd even say that it's actually a pretty good move from a marketing stand point. As beloved as he is online and by critics and stuff, Frank Ocean really isn't in the "mainstream conscience." By coming out, (a few weeks before the new album drops) he has brought himself into the mainstream news and is getting his name out to people who have never heard of him. He is creating more buzz around his name and possibley bringing in a new demographic (i.e. the gay community).

Now the negative to this is that he could isolate some of his current fan base and lose some of his current supporters but honestly I don't see that happening at least not on a mass level. The people who are going to reject his music soley on the basis of his sexuality, probably already wrote him off as soft prior to this. For the most part his fan base will just continue to listen as long as he makes good music. And as for it hurting his working relationship with other artist, its possible that maybe a few big names avoid him because he came out, but if it ever came out publically they'd have a PR nightmare on their hands.

So in short, what I'm saying is he isn't really breaking down barriers as much as showing that the barriers of the past are already gone (or at least greatly weakend)

I feel like R&B artists being seen as kinda soft as a whole will ease this blow for the industry. But if a rapper like say Drake or Lil Wayne came out as gay i feel like there would be a much bigger deal made about it.

[Rudi]

I feel like R&B artists being seen as kinda soft as a whole will ease this blow for the industry. But if a rapper like say Drake or Lil Wayne came out as gay i feel like there would be a much bigger deal made about it.

I don't think many people would be that shocked if one of those guys came out and was gay/bi.

[j.hen]

My suspicions began when I heard this lyric:

A tornado flew around my room before you came
Excuse the mess it made, it usually doesn't rain
In Southern California, much like Arizona
My eyes don't shed tears, but, boy, they bawl

[EmpireWF]

A tornado flew around my room before you came
Excuse the mess it made, it usually doesn't rain
In Southern California, much like Arizona
My eyes don't shed tears, but, boy, they bawl

So he's the black, homosexual version of Ace...