R&B Singer Frank Ocean Reveals First Love was a Man
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Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic(NEW YORK) — Frank Ocean, the R&B singer and member of controversial hip-hop collective Odd Future, took to his blog to openly discuss his sexuality, telling readers that his first love was a man.
According to the critically acclaimed 24-year-old singer, he had originally planned to tell fans in the liner notes of his forthcoming album “Channel Orange,” but instead he took to his Tumblr as rumors began to circulate. Several tracks on his new album are reportedly love songs addressed to a man.
“4 summers ago, I met somebody,” the singer wrote. “I was 19 years old. He was too. We spent that summer, and the summer after, together. Every day 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,” he wrote.
Ocean goes on to explain how he told his first love his feelings, but the man “wouldn’t tell the truth about his feelings for me for another 3 years.” He says that he kept the friendship going as he struggled with himself and his emotions.
“I don’t have any secrets I need kept anymore … I was never alone, as much as it felt like it. As much as I still do sometimes. I never was. I don’t think I ever could be. Thanks. To my first love, I’m grateful for you,” he wrote.
Ocean burst onto the music scene in February 2011 with his acclaimed debut mix tape, “Nostalgia, Ultra.” He had become a member of Los Angeles-based alternative hip-hop collective Odd Future after appearing on member Domo Genesis’ track, “SteamRoller” in 2010.
Members of Odd Future, particularly lead member and co-founder Tyler, the Creator, have been accused of homophobia in the past, and the group was even dropped from the Big Day Out festival in Auckland, New Zealand, last year after activists said the group’s lyrics promote bullying of gays, bisexuals and transgender people.
Tyler, the Creator, however, took to his Twitter feed early Wednesday to support his friend.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio