Frank Ocean (b. 1987)

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Biography

Frank Ocean is an American singer-songwriter and rapper. His accolades include two Grammy Awards and a Brit Award. He has been credited by several music critics as a pioneer of the alternative R&B genre.

In Their Own Words (3)

There's just some magic in truth and honesty and openness.

GQ, November 20, 2012 , 2012

The blinds wide open so he canSee you in the dark when you're sleepin'Naked body fresh out the showerYou touch yourself after hours.

She recorded with Tyler, the Creator

I thought that I was dreamin' when you said you love me.

Timeline

The story of Frank Ocean, told in moments.

1987 Birth

Born Christopher Edwin Breaux in Long Beach, California. Raised in New Orleans until Hurricane Katrina destroyed the recording studio where he was working. Moved to Los Angeles at 19 with nothing.

Hurricane Katrina destroying your studio. Did starting over define you? Moving to LA at nineteen with nothing. Was that terrifying?

2011 Event

Releases Nostalgia, Ultra as a free download after Def Jam hesitates on its release. Kanye West and Tyler, the Creator share it immediately. Within weeks he's the most talked-about new voice in R&B.

A free download because Def Jam hesitated. Was that revenge? Kanye and Tyler sharing it immediately. Did you expect their support?

2012 Event

Posts a letter on Tumblr revealing his first love was a man. He's one of the first major hip-hop/R&B artists to come out. The response is overwhelmingly supportive. Channel Orange drops six days later and debuts at No. 2.

Posting that letter on Tumblr. How long did you hesitate before clicking? One of the first major artists to come out. Did you feel alone?

2016 Event

Blonde arrives without warning after years of silence. No singles, no interviews, no promotional campaign. It sells 276,000 copies in the first week. He releases it independently, cutting out the label entirely.

No singles, no interviews, no promotion. Was silence the strategy? Releasing independently, cutting out the label. Was that freedom?

2017 Event

Wins two Grammys for Blonde but doesn't attend the ceremony. He'd pulled the album from Grammy consideration the year before. "I don't want to participate in a system I don't trust," he tells the Times.

Pulling Blonde from Grammy consideration. What don't you trust? Two Grammys you didn't show up for. Is that a statement or indifference?

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