With the release of his debut album on the horizon, R&B crooner Frank Ocean has begun previewing his 17-track LP, Channel Orange, for selective taste makers in the industry. So far, reviews have been overwhelmingly positive, with some critics making comparing the 25-year-old artist to legends like Prince, Sade and Michael Jackson. Yet one journalist believes Ocean should be applauded for another reason that has nothing do with music. ThisIsMax reports that Ocean reflects on his own sexuality and alludes to a sexual preference for both men and women on the new album.
The new album Channel Orange has him working with Andre 3000 on a song called ‘Pink Matter’, we are spoilt with not one but two verses from Andre on this. Guitarist John Mayer has a interlude moment with ‘White’ while Earl Sweatshirt features on the brilliant ‘Super Rich Kids’. Stand out tracks include ‘Pyramids’ ‘Crack Rock’ and ‘Lost’ aswell as a reworking of ‘Thinking About You’.
Frank has also opened up about his sexuality on the album, we think it’s brave and admire him for being so honest and sharing such a personal aspect of his life through his music. On the songs ‘Bad Religion’ ‘Pink Matter and ‘Forrest Gump’ you can hear him sing about being in love and there are quite obvious words used like ‘him’ and not ‘her’. [sic all]
Frank is a member of Odd Future, a rap clique who have been heavily criticized for their use homophobic slurs in their rap lyrics, which they have defended as satiric. If Ocean does indeed publicly embrace being a member of the LGBT community it will certainly raise eyebrows within the hip-hop community. We reached out to Def Jam for a statement but we received no response.
Follow Kyle Harvey on Twitter at @HarveyWins.