Frank Ocean - Channel Orange (2012)

idk. zack quinto and homie from glee came out and are much more famous than frank ocean.

I mean neither of those guys wrote a blog post but they're in the same category

who's the homie from glee

chris colfer

Chris Colfer?

doh, xp

quinto i think of more in the anderson cooper "i politely ignored the talk about my sexuality to focus on my work until i realized i was a celebrity out in every way except for public acknowledgment" dept, if people were buzzing about frank ocean on that level i had no idea

and colfer is pretty obviously in the adam lambert one

frank ocean is not famous, hell get more burn off this than everything else hes done to date

he's bon iver famous

dont know that iver heard of him

i'm pretty sure colfer was already out before he was famous too, i assumed "homie from glee" had to be referring to someone else

i guess this is kind of close to amber heard coming out, someone whose career is in an almost vertical rise potentially alienating a fanbase, and i don't really want to play "whose coming out is the most brave" or anything, just acknowledge that the path ocean's taking is pretty atypical and brave even with these precedents.

frank's situation is certainly unique in that there were never any rumors about his sexuality and he's probably the most notable contemporary black male musician to come out (to whatever extent he did) but as far as piscesx's question of if he's the most famous young person to ever come out, the answer is no.

colfer & quinto were both suspected to be gay but they both "came out" publicly long before it got to clay aiken/anderson cooper levels of "c'mon dude"

lol also this dude apparently http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/11/paul-iacono-gay-coming-out-interview-_n_1414737.html#s411847&title=Chris_Colfer_2009

yeah, was going to say some of you are overestimating how visible Frank Ocean is in the whole scheme of things

if i'm fakin' then i'm clay aiken

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/04/a-musician-and-a-critic-make-some-points-about-love/?ref=arts

I think maybe it matters more inside the hip hop/R&B world, where everyone knows who Frank Ocean is, than it does to the wider public, but that's fine - that's where its impact could be most significant.

yeah, was going to say some of you are overestimating how visible Frank Ocean is in the whole scheme of things

yeah that's why I made that profile crack a while ago. He gained an extra five figures in sales for his next albums though.

i think there should be some sub-category of famousness/visibility that considers how topical or hot or w/e the guy is, though; it's that he's ascendant, like is affiliated with a couple of waves of newish music and featuring on other people's really big records. like i'm sure his record is on every broadsheet newspaper's inclusive list of hip 2012 records. he might not be that famous but it's an extra dimension to be sorta zeitgeisty at the same time. idk what point i'm specifically directing this at, it just seemed semi-relevant.

i think the publicity stunt thing is crazy, also. if we take it a step further than who-has-this-happened-with-before, i don't think there's a significant enough track record of coming out really improving somebody's job prospects for this to be like a sensible gamble.

reminds me a bit of Bowie in the early seventies, just as he was establishing a major profile. He Got It Out of the Way and watched as it helped his notoriety for a few years.

I'm speaking only of career moves though. Pretty obvious now -- then too if you looked close enough -- that Bowie did it for the most cyincal of reasons. Ocean looks like it's been chewing away at him, by contrast.

I think maybe it matters more inside the hip hop/R&B world, where everyone knows who Frank Ocean is, than it does to the wider public, but that's fine - that's where its impact could be most significant.

― Get wolves (DL), Wednesday, July 4, 2012 10:55 AM Bookmark

otm

Except for (sorta kinda) Bowie, has there ever been an example of someone selling more records by coming out? It seems to me that he risks losing more listeners than he gains with this, despite the comforts of glowing NYT and NPR coverage. I'm sure more journalists want to write about him now but do more people actually want to buy his album? (Which is apparently incredible BTW)

i don't think there's a significant enough track record of coming out really improving somebody's job prospects

Some people blame the fall of Ellen's 90s sitcom on her coming out. That's probably partially true, but it actually coincided with her show getting less funny.

hope frank doesn't start singing worse

Does that make Michael Stipe the alt-rock Ellen?

lol probably

or the alt-rock Elton

As far as r&b singers, does Johnny Mathis count? Probably not, but he came out in 82, received death threats then went back in for a couple more decades. Then you have someone like Rahsaan Patterson who was never really closeted to begin with.

i think the publicity stunt thing is crazy, also. if we take it a step further than who-has-this-happened-with-before, i don't think there's a significant enough track record of coming out really improving somebody's job prospects for this to be like a sensible gamble.

― blossom smulch (schlump), Wednesday, July 4, 2012 1:58 PM (16 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

ya from a career standpoint i wouldntve advised this, from a being a human perspective its great tho

lol I just learned right now that Johnny Mathis is out. Of course, this probably says more about how little I pay attention to Johnny Mathis than it does anything else.

pretty sure Beyonce will still request songs -- as long as the album goes multiplatinum, that is.

Maybe Youtube comments are an augury of what to expect...

FUCK THIS FAG....Why tha fuck would i listen to another nigga sing about another nigga...THE HELL WIT FAGS AND SUPPORTERS
chakrasmash 3 minutes ago

it's all been said, but frank's statement is beautiful and everyone should listen to altered ego (at least once)

On Saturday morning I sat at the dining room table in Frank Ocean’s Los Angeles home and, for about three hours, spoke with him about love.

It’s the type of thing that, if you’ve spent time with his music, songs he writes for others and songs he sings himself, you can’t help but do.

lol "once you've heard his music, it's impossible to not end up in his house talking to him"

Thank you for that illuminating c&p, Spectrum

i'd sorta forgot Bowie did it oddly enough. where did he do it? in a big-time interview? i mean.. he was married and all i'm guessing at the time too.

Maybe Youtube comments are an augury of what to expect...

this is even generally speaking the stupidest statement i've ever read

Well hurrr, that was the point.

Bowie declared himself gay in an interview with Melody Maker in 72

xp Actually, Stipe is an interesting example because he didn't become known as "gay rock star Michael Stipe". His sexuality wasn't even mentioned in some of the REM obits. I guess alt-rock is used to gay musicians and by the time he came out his mainstream star had dipped.

why is this turning into a TV Tropes entry for gay musicians

Because piscesx asked a question. Forgive me for not knowing what TV Tropes is.

lucky you

good for him.

Gonna be another to chime in that the liner notes are beautiful. Hope all goes well for him, he seems like a good dude and could turn into a v good songwriter.

he already is

that russel simmons statement is really dope imo