Frank Ocean - Channel Orange (2012)

where are the people saying they can't relate? checked his facebook page and the comments were 90% positive.

Speech Debelle ‏@speechdebelle
Frank Ocean didn't "come out", he just let us in. Letting people in is what a true artist does. He is honest and brave.

trying to repress the hey i'll quote a stupid thing i read on the internet urge itt, because that there are people missing the point probably doesn't need to trample into this otherwise nice moment. but i was flicking through the thread on the kanyetothe forum, & it's split between "who cares", which is obviously fine, & "i hope he doesn't write a song about a guy".
xp

yeah just trying to ascertain whether that kind of response is significantly large or just, like, mouth breathers on twitter and that kanye forum

yeah i think so. there isn't like a dismayed sasha frere jones thinkpiece about the liner notes or anything. probably encouraging if facebook is relatively normal though.

" By the time I realized I was in love, it was malignant. It was hopeless. There was no escaping, no negotiation with the feeling. No choice. It was my first love, it changed my life"

lots of know how liberating and horrifying that first love was

how many hours has this news been out there for there to even be 'thinkpieces'

just kidding around

right ok

They'll be along in a minute.

true

is this the most high profile coming out (of some sort) in the history of rap/r&b?

hmmm probably

assuming he has a profile

i couldn't think of anything else. obviously, it's not a long list.

for a dude to come out -- even as bi, if that's what it is -- w/in a year of guesting on a kanye/jay-z album is pretty remarkable

before this, the most notable gay hip-hop/r&b artist was............ latifah? and she's not even out. missy? her either.

i couldn't even name a male, but maybe someone's slipping my mind

Jermaine Stewart?

luther is the biggest who "everyone knew" but thats obv not the same

for a second there i thought you meant campbell and i was all "wait, what?"

deep cover

meshell ndegéocello? i don't know whether she was out from the start, i assume so

For a second there I thought you meant Tevin Campbell

and why not

OMG is Missy gay?? :-D

The idea of all of her sex raps being abt women makes me super giddy

Is there anyone officially out besides Syd?

Oh and if we're still counting Nina Sky as R&B as opposed to pop, one of them is married to a woman, but that only happened post-fame.

I can't think of any successful out female rappers. Latifah's still not really out. Danced around it with those comments at her Pride concert, but denied it after the fact. (Didn't deny being gay. Just said that she wasn't coming out. Kind of masterful non-denial denial)

wasn't that Vandross' approach too?

Latifah spent about six minutes singing "heal me, Jesus heal me" over and over again in Joyful Noise. She ain't never coming out.

Hilariously enough a lot of the reaction I've seen on twitter today is basically "Good for him! When are Ne-Yo and Miguel coming out?" and I can't decide whether those comments are supposed to be vaguely homophobic or if it's just generally accepted wisdom that both of them are in the closet.

xp I am sorta stunned that you would even know that

Speech Debelle ‏@speechdebelle
Frank Ocean didn't "come out", he just let us in. Letting people in is what a true artist does. He is honest and brave.

― gonna send him to outer space, to hug another face (NickB), Wednesday, July 4, 2012 6:23 AM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

ya good on him, well done

latifahs not really in the rap game anymore

Hilariously enough a lot of the reaction I've seen on twitter today is basically "Good for him! When are Ne-Yo and Miguel coming out?" and I can't decide whether those comments are supposed to be vaguely homophobic or if it's just generally accepted wisdom that both of them are in the closet

no word about Kanye?

Brenton Duvall‏@BrentonRules

I'm definitely takin the day off from twitter to avoid the frank ocean comments and the People acting like they've always loved odd future

the Twitter feed is hilarious

Looooool so that song about intercourse in the garden that I would sing along to was potentially about a guy? Oh Frank Ocean you troll!

please tell me he actually sings the words "intercourse in the garden"

The idea of all of her sex raps being abt women makes me super giddy

missy's had enough lyrics not just specifically about men but male genitalia that her coming out as a lesbian (as opposed to bi) would actually be kinda "wha?" Not in an "OH MY GOD I CAN NEVER LISTEN TO YOUR SONG ABOUT LICKING THE MAGIC STICK AGAIN" way but in a "why did you bother singing about licking magic sticks then" way.

yeah i don't know where the missy speculation ever really came from other than that she doesn't look super-feminine

Maybe the elephant sample in "Work It" refers to a clit/strap-on/bosom?

wish people would remember that bisexuality exists

have you missed what this discussion on the Frank Ocean thread is actually about

he meant re: missy, i think.

there is an element of suspicion due to non-femininity in the missy rumors but idk i always got the sense that the rumors were some industry "secrets" finally seeping out into the public -- that may be totally false tho

also did she ever have a relationship with a man that was known to the public? that's a genuine question btw, i can't think of any but i may be forgetting something obvious

http://www.ballerstatus.com/2011/03/18/keri-hilson-missy-elliott-rebuke-lesbian-relationship-rumor/#.T_RY1lJ-iCQ

the keri/missy rumor was a fantasy keri had after timbaland told her she'd never be the black swan

ha i love how they handled that (xpost)

lol croup

A little off topic now, but wow, that was a beautiful statement. I'm glad he wrote about his personal experience. A friend of mine confessed his love for me when I was 18 and was his coming out moment, but I just sorta blew it off... reading this makes me wonder if this was something like how he felt. I never really got it, I guess.

xp Ha ha

ok this one was *almost* official i guess

http://lezgetreal.com/2010/06/pictures-of-missy-elliot-and-her-girlfriend/