Singer-songwriter Frank Ocean, part of
the collective Odd Future, has come out as bisexual in a blog post on
his website.
Ocean, whose real name is Christopher
Francis Ocean, is being credited as the first mainstream hip-hop star
to come out.
In the post, the 24-year-old Ocean said
that his “first love” was another man.
“Four summers ago, I met somebody. I
was 19 years old. He was too. We spent that summer, and the summer
after, together. Everyday almost. And on the days we were together,
time would glide. Most of the day I'd see him, and his smile.”
“Sleep I would often share with him.
By the time I realized I was in love, it was malignant. It was
hopeless. There was no escaping, no negotiating to the women I had
been with, the ones I cared for and thought I was in love with.”
“I sat there and told my friend how I
felt. I wept as the words left my mouth. I grieved for them.
Knowing I could never take them back for myself. He patted my back.
He said kind things. He did his best, but he wouldn't admit the
same.”
The New Orleans native made an early
career ghost-writing for Justin Bieber and John Legend, among others.
Last year, he released two singles off
his debut mixtape, Nostalgia, Ultra, and is set to release his
first studio album, Channel Orange, on July 17.
Ocean's statement was scheduled to be
published in the liner notes of Channel Orange.
Some reports had suggested that the album's lyrics
effectively outed Ocean as gay.