Frank Ocean.

Hotsauce84Hotsauce84 8,450 Posts
edited July 2012 in Strut Central
Proud of this dude. Anderson Cooper too. Things are changing quickly. FINALLY.

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  • KineticKinetic 3,739 Posts
    Just read about this on FB. Not really that surprised, but it's cool to see it happening.

  • hogginthefogghogginthefogg 6,098 Posts
    Wow. Dude already had my respect and my admiration, but now he has even more of it.

  • m_dejeanm_dejean Quadratisch. Praktisch. Gut. 2,946 Posts
    Real talk. And I'm feeling "Pyramids".

  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    It's a beautiful letter.

  • staxwaxstaxwax 1,474 Posts
    I have no opinion on him coming out or anything - his tape didnt do much for me - but I came across this tune as a result of the media today and its been on repeat all day - amazing track.



    in other standing up for yourself news - shout out to katie holmes for kicking scary ass Tom Cruise to the curb.

  • BallzDeepBallzDeep 612 Posts
    what a convenient time to drop this little piece of info.

  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    You mean now that things are so amazingly wonderful for young gay people?

    Or at this opportune time when Frank Ocean wanted to lose a shitload of fans/listeners anyhow?

  • BallzDeepBallzDeep 612 Posts
    bassie said:


    Or at this opportune time when Frank Ocean wanted to lose a shitload of fans/listeners anyhow?

    i was thinking it would actually generate some attention, and help gain fans/listeners.
    not to discredit dude. he might be a great artist, and i will be purchasing on release day.

  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    Lil B fucked it up by copping out at the last minute and adding (I'm Happy) to I'm Gay, so it's hard to say in that case, but I'm not sure how much the hype helped him.

    I've seen support and praise for Ocean from folks in the LGBT+ community more than fans of his music...but it is the first day after all.
    Still, I am not sure it will gain him fans (of his music) as much as have people fall out.
    I don't like his music and this won't make it sound any better to me. I admire him for this, but it won't have me going out and buying his records.

    The letter comes across as genuine to me. He took a risk, personal and professional. I really don't want to be part of a cynicism that sees an ulterior motive to a young person who puts her/himself out there.
    Side note - this also makes me like Odd Future even more; two out members says something about the climate of that crew.

    [slightly off topic, but I can see him catching (some yet different) shit if he had written exactly what he did, but about a girl]

    Edit - Attention yes, but I am not sure the kind that will result in record sales? Hard to say now.
    It's actually a really interesting time to do this imo as he is somewhat on the brink of fame.

  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    I had not heard of Frank Ocean until today. So there is that.

    Saw a little thing in the paper about how Anderson Cooper came out and "it was no big deal". Thought about making a post, but then it would have been a big deal.

    Interestingly, Elton John, Bowie, Phil Lesh and other rockers came out decades ago and continue to fill stadiums. But they were already superstars. (Or bass players in band with a huge fan base.)

    Hopefully in the future can just be who they are and not have to answer questions.

  • tabiratabira 856 Posts
    I'm probably going to win stater of the obvious award 2012, but this is about rap coming out of the closet, right, not homosexuality?

  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    Thymebomb13 said:
    LaserWolf said:
    Interestingly, Elton John, Bowie, Phil Lesh and other rockers came out decades ago and continue to fill stadiums. But they were already superstars. (Or bass players in band with a huge fan base.)

    Phil Lesh isn't gay, so you must have him mixed up with someone else.

    The big news will be when Derek Jeter comes out.

    I must have heard someone say he was ghey and misunderstood the meaning.

  • OkemOkem 4,617 Posts
    The kid makes rnb, a genres who's no.1 favourite topic is getting it on. The majority of straight dudes aren't going to want to here him singing about his love for other dudes.

    It's cool that he has the courage to come out, but I don't see this as something that's going to boost his career.
    Good luck to him though. If Chris Brown can come back and be successful after beating his woman, you'd hope society can accept the fact that some dude is gay.

  • HorseleechHorseleech 3,830 Posts
    Thymebomb13 said:
    LaserWolf said:
    Interestingly, Elton John, Bowie, Phil Lesh and other rockers came out decades ago and continue to fill stadiums. But they were already superstars. (Or bass players in band with a huge fan base.)

    Phil Lesh isn't gay.

    Neither is Bowie.

  • djannadjanna 1,543 Posts
    I hope all the thugged out kids at my high school I heard singing "Swim Good" in the hallway will continue to support dude. This has the potential to be a major game changer.

  • sticky_dojahsticky_dojah New York City. 2,136 Posts
    djanna said:
    This has the potential to be a major game changer.

    ...sayin'...

  • JimsterJimster Cruffiton.etsy.com 6,885 Posts
    Horseleech said:
    Thymebomb13 said:
    LaserWolf said:
    Interestingly, Elton John, Bowie, Phil Lesh and other rockers came out decades ago and continue to fill stadiums. But they were already superstars. (Or bass players in band with a huge fan base.)

    Phil Lesh isn't gay.

    Neither is Bowie.

    Bowie claimed at the time to be tri-sexual - that he'd had affairs with women, men and HIS GUITAR. Did he respect it in the morning?

    As opposed to the Ali G definition - "I am trisexual - I'd try anything sexual."

  • DocMcCoyDocMcCoy "Go and laugh in your own country!" 5,913 Posts
    Okem said:
    The kid makes rnb, a genres who's no.1 favourite topic is getting it on. The majority of straight dudes aren't going to want to here him singing about his love for other dudes.

    In which case, that's on them. I reckon you're right about what the reaction is likely to be, but unless dude is being gender-specific, I don't see where the issue is. He hasn't explicitly said he's gay, and that's his business if he chooses to or not. Noz just posted this on Twitter;

    dude very carefully wrote about a complicated experience only to have it immediately reduced to a soundbite.

    It's a pity he went and deleted it, because it's amongst the more insightful things I've read about the story - what does our reaction - and that of the media, of course - say about us?

    It's cool that he has the courage to come out, but I don't see this as something that's going to boost his career.

    It might put a ceiling on it, though. It's going to be interesting to see how things look a couple of albums down the line. By then, we should have found out to what extent the current fuss will have shaped dude's career path.

    Good luck to him though. If Chris Brown can come back and be successful after beating his woman, you'd hope society can accept the fact that some dude is gay.

    I can't help thinking that part of the reason more rappers/R&B performers choose not to come out is because they know they'll have to spend the rest of their careers answering questions about their sexuality. It won't matter if their music is on some perpetual next shit or if it's landfill. Whether we like it or not, for a significant area of the media, "who's Frank Ocean fucking?" is always going to be a bigger story than his music, and that's actually kind of depressing.

  • HarveyCanalHarveyCanal "a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
    I like Frank Ocean for his singing/songs, period. What he does in his free time, well, I'll let Herm worry about that.

  • rootlesscosmorootlesscosmo 12,848 Posts

    It won't matter if their music is on some perpetual next shit or if it's landfill. Whether we like it or not, for a significant area of the media, "who's [whoever] fucking?" is always going to be a bigger story than his music, and that's actually kind of depressing.

    This can be said of all pop music, whether the artist is openly gay or closeted or straight.

    if dude's music is overlooked in favor of a focus on who he's fucking, and yet all the while he remains in the entertainment news and continues selling records, his lot will have been no better/worse than most pop stars'.

  • white_teawhite_tea 3,262 Posts
    Yeah I'm thinking about audience he would gain would be smaller than the audience he loses -- with the idea of listening to an R&B dude singin' possibly about another dude being a little too much for some dudes to handle. My girl works in an office of primarily R&B listeners and a popular refrain in the wake of Obama voicing support of same-sex marriage was: "It's Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve." Maybe and hopefully I'm wrong. I think it's awesome, though, an artist just sharing something very personal makes you appreciate their art more. And besides, I think dude might be able to skate by on name cache alone. Frank Ocean? Has a certain panache, no? And if the rest of the album is as good as "Pyramids"? I know what I'll be listening to for the rest of the summer!

  • BallzDeepBallzDeep 612 Posts
    white_tea said:
    the idea of listening to an R&B dude singin' possibly about another dude being a little too much for some dudes to handle.

    well, after listening to ULTRA I had no idea he was singing about a dude. Did anybody? I mean as long as lyrics are ambiguous... what difference does it make.

  • Jonny_PaycheckJonny_Paycheck 17,825 Posts
    I dunno dudes. I haven't seen much revolt besides internet comment trolls. I may be wrong but I think his admissions (which do not equate exactly to "coming out", as Noz rightly alluded to) will reflect well upon him and his career

    His name is on the lips and keys of a gazillion people today that didn't even know who he was yesterday. I know it's hard to see beyond ones immediate circle or world or what have you, but his letter and the resultant conversation has exposed him to many new listeners. Particularly, listeners that actually buy music. Importantly, he's really fucking talented, so I think he stands a good chance to turn those keystrokes into record sales. Not trying to imply at all that there was any cynicism. Truly, I found his letter to be one of the best articulations of love and heartbreak that I've read by anyone, gay straight or otherwise.

    He'll have a big feature in this weekend's Sunday Times, and then the record will drop. I hope it does well. Dudes are totally concern trolling when they are talmbout "dudes won't play it b/c ew it's teh gay". Think about who listens to Frank Ocean. Come on you guys

  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    white_tea said:
    "It's Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve."

    Stephen. Please.


  • It surprises me that someones sexuality is news. Dudes have been cuddling dudes since the dawn of time.

  • JimsterJimster Cruffiton.etsy.com 6,885 Posts
    HOW THE FUCK CAN YOU TELL THAT I'M 13 BY LOOKING AT WHAT I'M WRITEING?????????????????????????????????????????????????????

  • DocMcCoyDocMcCoy "Go and laugh in your own country!" 5,913 Posts
    pimlicosquirrel said:
    It surprises me that someones sexuality is news. Dudes have been cuddling dudes since the dawn of time.

    If you're saying that it oughtn't to be news, I agree. Now, can someone tell that to all the fucking idiots who spend way too long getting seriously worked up about rappers who wear pink, or skinny jeans, or fitted t-shirts, to the extent that some of them even make songs about it? These are the people who will be hurling homophobic abuse at Frank Ocean from now until Dick docks, and as far as their kindergarten mindset is concerned, fashion choices and sexuality go hand in hand. Personally it makes no difference to me one way or the other if more rappers or R&B singers henceforth feel able to come out or otherwise discuss their sexuality. I'm more bothered by the inability of so many people to act like fucking grown-ups about it.

  • OkemOkem 4,617 Posts
    Jonny_Paycheck said:
    I may be wrong but I think his admissions (which do not equate exactly to "coming out", as Noz rightly alluded to)
    Isn't this just a "I'm happy" moment.

    I mean, being in love with another man and having a loving relationship with him, doesn't make you gay? If he doesn't want to put a label on himself, fine, that's his business, but for the sake of discussion let's call a spade a spade.

    His name is on the lips and keys of a gazillion people today that didn't even know who he was yesterday. I know it's hard to see beyond ones immediate circle or world or what have you, but his letter and the resultant conversation has exposed him to many new listeners. Particularly, listeners that actually buy music. Importantly, he's really fucking talented, so I think he stands a good chance to turn those keystrokes into record sales. Not trying to imply at all that there was any cynicism. Truly, I found his letter to be one of the best articulations of love and heartbreak that I've read by anyone, gay straight or otherwise.
    He'll have a big feature in this weekend's Sunday Times, and then the record will drop. I hope it does well
    Are you saying he might crossover because of this? In some ways that would kind of be a shame imo.

    Dudes are totally concern trolling when they are talmbout "dudes won't play it b/c ew it's teh gay". Think about who listens to Frank Ocean. Come on you guys

    Personally, when I made that comment it was only in response to the assertion that this was timed as a marketing ploy. I didn't get into Nostalgia Ultra as a cosepuence I've never really paid him any attention, so don't really know who his audience is. I doubt it's quite the same as the OFWGKTA, but I would guess he's loved by hipsters, TheWeeknd fans and Pitchfork et al. Does he not get love from the traditional RnB market?

    Not being American I don't truly understand the US rnb market anyway. The idea of dudes hanging with tha boys, looking criss in their pink shirts whilst they drive around in their jeeps, windows down, bumping Kels, singing along as he espouse about how he's going to do them right. All sounds a little suspect. And that's how it happens in my mind from what I've gleaned from spending a near decade reading Soulstrut, so it must be true.

  • leonleon 883 Posts
    DocMcCoy said:
    ...more bothered by the inability of so many people to act like fucking grown-ups about it.
    Me too. I think it also has to do with the actual age of the ones listening. A part just isn't grown up yet. Not that it justifies their opinion in any way, jussayin.
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