FRANK OCEAN OPENS UP ABOUT COMING OUT

Acclaimed singer and rapper Frank Ocean has spoken candidly about coming out in the macho R&B and Hip Hop world.

In an interview for the December issue of GQ, the 25-year-old groundbreaking star revealed that he “cried like a fucking baby” the night earlier this year that he posted a letter online revealing that he’d had a love affair with another a man, thereby coming out.

“It was like all the frequencies just clicked to a change in my head. All the receptors were now receiving a different signal, and I was happy. I hadn’t been happy in so long. I’ve been sad again since, but it’s a totally different take on sad. There’s just some magic in truth and honesty and openness,” he told GQ.

When asked about concerns that coming out would hurt his career, Ocean replied: “I had those fears. In black music, we’ve got so many leaps and bounds to make with acceptance and tolerance in regard to that issue. It reflects something just ingrained, you know.

“When I was growing up, there was nobody in my family – not even my mother – who I could look to and be like, ‘I know you’ve never said anything homophobic.’ So, you know, you worry about people in the business who you’ve heard talk that way.”

In the interview, Ocean also railed against the need for people to define other people’s sexuality, including his own.

“I’ll respectfully say that life is dynamic and comes along with dynamic experiences, and the same sentiment that I have towards genres of music, I have towards a lot of labels and boxes and shit…” he said.

“People should pay attention to that in the letter: I didn’t need to label it for it to have impact. Because people realise everything that I say is so relatable, because when you’re talking about romantic love, both sides in all scenarios feel the same shit.”

Ocean has written music for performers such as Justin Bieber, Beyonce and John Legend and released his own debut album Channel Orange in July, receiving largely rave reviews from critics.