For those of you who have been living under a rock, it has been a big week in coming out news. Journalist Anderson Cooper finally told the world what most knew about him, but what surprised everyone was when Odd Future member and singer/songwriter Frank Ocean declared his love for the same gender in a touching Tumblr post.
As most of us in media and fans of hip hop and R&B ponder what does this mean for an up-and-coming mainstream artist to declare his love for the same gender in a genre of music that often promotes misogyny and homophobia, journalist and MSNBC commentator Touré gives hit thoughts on Frank's revelation and feels that the singer's openness will have a much bigger impact than Anderson's.
From Touré's article in Time:
…For me and many others, the popular young singer Frank Ocean’s coming out this week on his Tumblr was even more powerful, courageous, seismic — and totally unexpected... But his coming out is no marketing ploy or attempt to grab attention; it’s a spiritual and personal release. “I don’t have any secrets I need kept anymore,” he wrote. “I feel like a free man.”
Ocean is an effortless heartthrob who sings in a hip-hop idiom. Hip-hop culture is notoriously homophobic, and asking the community to be nuanced on the issue of sexuality is like asking a middle-schooler to discuss metaphysics. Hip-hop is a parade of alpha men who use the dominance of women to enhance their manhood and seem to know nothing of the concept of anima, the feminized part of masculinity.
People seem to forget that we as human beings are made up of masculine and feminine parts, especially since it takes the genes of a man and woman to create a child. Oftentimes (even in the gay community) we are told to suppress our feminine qualities, for fear of being called names or physically assaulted. I've heard mixed reviews on Frank's coming out (which is to be expected), but what I am hoping is that those same rappers who approved of gay marriage the second President Obama came out and said it, I wonder what their opinions would be on Frank opening a new can of worms on a subject where the hip hop industry acts like there are no gays in it, but they're doing their dirt behind closed doors.
Anderson at the end of the day comes from old money (his mother is Gloria Vanderbilt) and he has the safety net of white privelige to catch him when he falls off. Frank is known within the industry but not as big as say Chris Brown, Usher or Trey Songz. He is a telented singer/songwriter who has writtin for some of your favorite musical acts (like Beyonce and Brandy, to name a few). As I said before only time will tell once he releases his solo album in a few weeks how his coming out will impact record sales - because at the end of the day that's all the major labels care about.
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