Who the hell knows what Purple Rain is and am I standing in it? - Frank Ocean
A few days ago after a BBC Radio listening session for Frank Ocean's upcoming LP Channel Orange, many began to believe that some of the lyrics may have been hinting at Ocean being bisexual. While it was strictly rumors and speculation when first mentioned, it was confirmed by Frankie himself when he published this letter on his Tumblr. In the letter he admits that he had an encounter with a man four years ago, and that he is indeed bisexual.
Now, I myself had no idea that all this time Frank Ocean was gay (even though now that I look back he left clues, such as in the Odd Future song Oldie with the line "Hi and I'm bi, wait I mean I'm straight...?"). The question Ocean faces is not how will coming out affect his life. In this generation is seems that homosexuality is becoming more and more acceptable. Just recently, popular talk show host and CNN anchor Anderson Cooper made the announcement that he's always been gay. The question that looms over Frank Ocean is how will it affect his career? From a women's perspective one of the newest rising sex symbols is off the market. While it's true that there are real female fans out there, a part of that fan base is just there for the visuals. I mean, do women really go to Chris Brown concerts to listen to him sing? On the contrary, he might have lost his male fan base all together. Our worst fear has come true, that maybe the slow jam we sang to our girlfriends late at night was originally written to a man. In a society where men, especially black men, are brought up to be homophobic coming out might have already caused irreversible damage; but only time will tell.
In the bigger picture outside of music, maybe Frank Ocean coming out will do more for others keeping the same secret. I personally believe that the entertainment industry has a slew of artists who are living in the closet that just don't want to commit career suicide. Fat Joe shared my feelings when he said in a DJ Vlad interview that the "gay mafia" was infiltrating hip hop. You even see how artists tests the waters about their sexuality, such as Miguel's mysterious transformation from having a suspect look to a more masculine and womanizing image seemingly over night.
As this whole thing unfolds I really hope it doesn't affect his career negatively. I've always believed that business is business, and what you do in your personal life should not influence business. So, as for me I still plan to listen to Frank Ocean because he makes good music. It will be a shame if his music isn't enjoyed because of his sexually preference, and hopefully critics won't go out of their way to not support him (besides, it always seems like the most homophobic people are always the most concerned with what gay folks are doing). So in the mean time, put Nostalgia, Ultra on for another spin while you wait for Channel Orange to drop on July 17th. Ocean is making timeless music, and it would be tragic if you don't find the time to listen.
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