S. Samuel
OutKast's Andre 3000 recently discussed hooking up with Odd Future singer Frank Ocean for their "Pink Matter" Channel Orange collaboration and how proud he is of the youngster's decision to come out about his bisexuality.
While speaking on collaborating in general, Andre spent ample time on linking up with Ocean.
“Frank Ocean, he let me hear the song, he said, ‘I just want you to tell a story. Honestly, I don’t care what it is, just tell a story.’ And when I got the track, I just started writing to it and I was just, I’m just happy to be a part of that whole movement and his whole movement because he has become a whole ‘nother kind of icon in today’s age. So I was just happy to be a part of that album. And so all of these collaborations have been blessings for me, I don’t reach out like, ‘Hey, I want you to do this.’ Drake, Lil Wayne, all those guys, they reach out and say, ‘Let’s do this.’ I just want to do good for them, I don’t want to mess their songs up.” (Fuse TV)
Recently, Grammy-winning singer Alicia Keys spoke on working with the Odd Future crooner and his decision to come out.
During the drive she talks about music in a soft voice. Alicia’s been listening to Frank Ocean lately. She appreciates his songwriting–he cowrote “One Thing” on her new album–and admires the courage of the open letter he wrote about his sexuality. “That was super brave and I’m so glad that he wrote it,” she says. “He is the voice for so many people. We’re all boxed in to these stupid things that we’re taught is the way we’re supposed to be and it’s so ridiculous. There are so many people that need a champion to assure them that no matter who you are, you are a beautiful person. That doesn’t change the fact that you’re talented or intelligent. Thank God that we have come to this place where we can actually know and be more open to the fact that people come in all different ways. And that’s great because it’s a very boring world otherwise.” (Complex)
Back in September, Pittsburgh rapper Mac Miller applauded Ocean’s daring decision.
Mac continued to salute Frank Ocean for speaking on his sexuality back on July 4. “I think it was the dopest sh*t anyone’s done this year,” Mac Miller said. “Him coming out and being gay was cool as f*ck. Because it was like alright… No one’s done that sh*t before. That’s like risky as hell. And I’m sure there’s a lot of people who could, but he made the illest music and then said that and people were like, ‘Okay. Whatever. It doesn’t matter. … I am just curious as if he would have came out like that from the start, what would it be like. But I’m glad it happened. I think it was dope. That was legendary.” (Billboard)
A few months ago, Frank came clean on why he let the world know about his personal life.
He said that his open letter was written in December 2011 with a view to include it in the album sleeve notes in order to pre-empt speculation that might arise from some of its songs addressing men. “I knew that I was writing in a way that people would ask questions,” he said. “I knew that my star was rising, and I knew that if I waited I would always have somebody that I respected be able to encourage me to wait longer, to not say it till who knows when.” The Odd Future member also downplayed the risk in his coming out. “People are just afraid of things too much … Sure, evil exists, extremism exists. Somebody could commit a hate crime and hurt me. But they could do the same just because I’m black. They could do the same just because I’m American.” (Guardian)
Check out Andre 3000’s interview:
