S. Samuel
Odd Future's Frank Ocean delves into the motivation behind releasing his open letter last summer and what emotions ran through his body following it in the new issue of GQ.
Based on an excerpt from the interview, Ocean claims a writer’s acknowledgement of his various usages of male pronouns ultimately inspired him to pull the trigger.
“The night I posted it, I cried like a f*cking baby. It was like all the frequency 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.” (GQ)
Frank also explains why he kept the secret deep inside him, even from family and friends.
“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. Some of my heroes coming up talk recklessly like that. It’s tempting to give those views and words– that ignorance–more attention than they deserve. Very tempting. Some people said, “He’s saying he fell in love with a guy for hype.” As if that’s the best hype you can get in hip-hop or black music. So I knew that if I was going to say what I said, it had to be in concert with one of the most brilliant pieces of art that has come out in my generation. And that’s what I did. Why can I say that? Why I don’t have to affect all this humility and sh*t is because I worked my a** off. I worked my face off. And the part that you love the most is the easiest part for me. So I’ll do it again.” (GQ)
Recently, Ocean addressed the wave of support he has receieved since coming out last July.
When asked about the overwhelming number of artists who want to work with him these days, he responded, “That’s not a problem. It’s not, like, a tragedy. It’s cool, it’s awesome, it just means people f— with me, and that’s cool.” (MTV)
Although he has yet to confirm/deny the gossip, photos of the his rumored love interest have emerged online.
November 16, 2012: So we were WAITING to see when Frank Ocean would step out . . . with one of his lovers. And it looks like he HAS. MediaTakeOut.com obtained photos of Frank and his new male companion – openly gay male model/dancer Willy Cartier. Frank and Willy have been nearly INSEPARABLE lately. In fact, two days ago, Frank brought Willy as his PLUS ONE at the GQ Man Of The Year event. We gotta admit, it’s kinda WEIRD to see an R&B singer out and about with his boyfriend, but we guess it’s BETTER THAN THE DOWNLOW ALTERNATIVE. Anyways, we’re feeling that Frank Ocean Song Thinkin’ About You . . . so we’re just gonna wish him the best and KEEP IT PUSHIN. (Media Take Out)
