History Music / FrankOcean

He first took an interest in music from a young age but got the push to record his own after frequenting jazz bars and parlors. While he originally planned to study English at college in his hometown of New Orleans, the fallout of Hurricane Katrina led to him dropping out to pursue music. While he initially established himself as a songwriter in Los Angeles, he decided that the job, while comfortable, wasn't the most of what he wanted to do.

Adopting the name Frank Ocean (inspired by the original ''Film/OceansEleven'' film, in which '''Creator/{{Frank|Sinatra}}''' [[Creator/FrankSinatra Sinatra]], a muse of his, plays Danny '''Ocean'''), he joined the [[{{Music/OFWGKTA}} Odd Future]] music collective after meeting them in 2009. The same year, he signed a writing contract with Def Jam, but eventually felt neglected the label, to which he began work on an independent mixtape. The end result, ''nostalgia, ULTRA.'', was self-released in 2011 to critical acclaim, earning Ocean fans and future collaborators in high places (namely Music/KanyeWest, and through him Music/{{Beyonce}} and Music/JayZ).

His debut album ''channel ORANGE'' was released in summer 2012 to some of the strongest critical acclaim of any album that year, as well as a UsefulNotes/GrammyAward for Best Urban Contemporary Album. As much attention as the album got for its unconventional genre influences and storytelling, its coverage of unrequited love became of special note due to an open letter Ocean shared prior to the album's release in which he stated that his first love was a man. While he has never to this day specified a label, he is notable as one of the relatively few openly LGBT male stars in R&B music, and an icon for the LGBT community.

While Ocean confirmed in 2013 that work had begun on his follow-up album, it would take until the end of summer 2016 for said album -- ''Blonde'', originally titled ''Boys Don't Cry'' -- to release after one of the most infamous and widely publicized album delays of the decade. (Seriously; even ''Music/{{Adele}}'' complained.) However, several weeks prior, a cryptic livestream began that showed Ocean building a staircase in a warehouse with new instrumentals playing in the background. This would eventually become the visual component of another new album, ''Endless'', which Ocean released to fulfill his Def Jam contract as the final step in a "seven-year chess game" Ocean enacted to part ways with the label which has been said to have finessed the label out of tens of millions of dollars. ''Blonde'' was subsequently a fully independent release.

His music career has, as of this writing, continued from there mainly through singles and features, although he has taken on separate ventures including an Apple Music 1 radio show titled ''Blonded Radio'' and a luxury jewelry company called Homer. He was set to headline Coachella in 2020, but following its cancellation as a result of the [[UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic COVID-19 pandemic]], it was announced in August 2021 that he would instead headline the festival in 2023.

While Ocean confirmed in 2013 that work had begun on his follow-up album, it would take until the end of summer 2016 for said album -- ''Blonde'', originally titled ''Boys Don't Cry'' -- to release after one of the most infamous and widely publicized album delays of the decade. (Seriously; even ''Music/{{Adele}}'' complained.) However, several weeks prior, a cryptic livestream began that showed Ocean building a staircase in a warehouse with new instrumentals playing in the background. This would eventually become the visual component of another new album, ''Endless'', which Ocean released to fulfill his Def Jam contract as the final step in a "seven-year chess game" Ocean enacted to part ways with the label which has been said to have finessed the label out of tens of millions of dollars.

[[caption-width-right:350:''Or do you not think so far ahead? 'Cause I been thinkin' 'bout forever...'']]

Frank Ocean (born Christopher Edwin Cooksey, later Breaux, on October 28, 1987 in New Orleans, Louisiana) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper and producer. His music is typically categorized as RAndB but covers a wide range of styles and influences, and he is considered one of the leading artists in the [[{{PBRAndB}} PBR&B]] genre.

He started his music career in the late 2000s as a songwriter before joining the [[{{Music/OFWGKTA}} Odd Future]] music collective in 2010. He released his debut mixtape, ''Nostalgia, Ultra'', in 2011, followed by his debut album ''Channel Orange'' in 2012, both to critical acclaim. After much delay, he released his second and third albums, ''Endless'' and ''Blonde'', just one day apart from each other in 2016. His fourth album was supposed to release in 2020 but has been indefinitely delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and his brother’s death in August of the same year.

He is also notable as one of the relatively few openly LGBT male stars in R&B music. Around the time of ''Channel Orange'''s release, Frank came out as bisexual in an [[http://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20120708220437/http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6me6uSdO81qdrz3yo1_1280.png open letter]] on his Tumblr account, where he stated that his first love was a man. A significant amount of his music, especially on and following ''Channel Orange'', can be interpreted to reference his experiences as a bisexual man.

Since his coming out, he has often been considered an icon for the LGBT community. Frank Ocean's music has consistently earned critical acclaim and accolades as well as commercial success, making him one of the most successful R&B artists of the past decade.

** "Provider" name-drops Creator/StanleyKubrick and Music/AphexTwin.

** "Super Rich Kids" references Music/MaryJBlige with the line "Real love, I'm searching for a real love". The party sounds from the background of the song also reference the show ''Series/GoodTimes'' and the song "Got to Give It Up" by Music/MarvinGaye.

* ''Music/ChannelORANGE'' (2012)

* ''Nostalgia, Ultra'' (2011)

Frank Ocean (born Christopher Edwin Cooksey, later Breaux on October 28, 1987 in New Orleans, Louisiana) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper and producer. His music is typically categorized as RAndB but covers a wide range of styles and influences, and he is considered one of the leading artists in the [[{{PBRAndB}} PBR&B]] genre.

Frank Ocean (born Christopher Lonny Edwin Breaux on October 28, 1987 in New Orleans, Louisiana) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper and producer. His music is typically categorized as RAndB but covers a wide range of styles and influences, and he is considered one of the leading artists in the [[{{PBRAndB}} PBR&B]] genre.

* TrueCompanions: Ocean has no plans on distancing himself from Odd Future. His tumblr account header, to date, still reads "FRANK OCEAN � OFWG � KTA". Tyler even helped him work on ''Blonde'' and featured in post-Blonde single ''Biking'', and Frank later appeared on a couple tracks on Tyler's ''Flowerboy'' album, and later contributed an outro to his track ''Lemonhead'' which appeared on his 2021 album ''Call Me If You Get Lost''.

* TrueCompanions: Ocean has no plans on distancing himself from Odd Future. His tumblr account header, to date, still reads "FRANK OCEAN � OFWG � KTA". Tyler even helped him work on ''Blonde'' and featured in post-Blonde single ''Biking''.

Frank Ocean (born Christopher Lonny Edwin Breaux on October 28, 1987 in New Orleans, Louisiana) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper and producer. His music is typically categorized as RAndB but covers a wide range of styles and influences, and he is considered one of the leading artists in the [[{{PBRAndB}} PBR&B]] genre. He started his music career in the late 2000s as a songwriter before joining the [[{{Music/OFWGKTA}} Odd Future]] music collective in 2010. He released his debut mixtape, ''Nostalgia, Ultra'', in 2011, followed by his debut album ''Channel Orange'' in 2012, both to critical acclaim. After much delay, he released his second and third albums, ''Endless'' and ''Blonde'', just one day apart from each other in 2016. His fourth album was supposed to release in 2020 but has been indefinitely delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and his brother’s death in August of the same year.

Frank Ocean (born Christopher Lonny Edwin Breaux on October 28, 1987 in New Orleans, Louisiana) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper and producer. His music is typically categorized as RAndB but covers a wide range of styles and influences, and he is considered one of the leading artists in the [[{{PBRAndB}} PBR&B]] genre. He started his music career in the late 2000s as a songwriter before joining the [[{{Music/OFWGKTA}} Odd Future]] music collective in 2010. He released his debut mixtape, ''Nostalgia, Ultra'', in 2011, followed by his debut album ''Channel Orange'' in 2012, both to critical acclaim. After much delay, he released his second and third albums, ''Endless'' and ''Blonde'', just one day apart from each other in 2016.

* ''Channel Orange'' (2012)

* BadassGay: Although mostly known for his tender R&B, he delivers hard-hitting raps on tracks like Tyler's "She", the OF posse cut "Oldie", & the trap posse cut "RAF" and rolls with one of the baddest crews in modern hip hop.

* HiddenTrack: ''channel ORANGE'' features "Golden Girl (feat. Tyler, the Creator)" on a limited number of physical copies of the album.

* SocialMediaIsBad: "Facebook Story" implies this. Sebastian, the man speaking, argues that his girlfriend's Facebook friend request is meaningless when they've already been dating for three years, and she takes his unwillingness as a sign that he's cheating on her.

* TheBigEasy: Born and raised in New Orleans. He moved to Los Angeles after Hurricane Katrina destroyed his recording studio. "Pink + White" uses imagery from the aftermath of the hurricane in its verses.

* Allegory / WorldOfSymbolism: "Pyramids" is one giant allegory for the fall of the black woman (and black people in general) from queens and pharaohs to hustlers and strippers. The titular pyramid goes from being a symbol of power and wealth to a strip club by song's end.

* EpicRocking:
** "Pyramids" is just under 10 minutes long.

Frank Ocean (born Christopher Lonny Edwin Breaux on October 28, 1987 in New Orleans, Louisiana) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper and producer. His music is typically categorized as [[RhythmAndBlues R&B]] but covers a wide range of styles and influences, and he is considered one of the leading artists in the [[{{PBRAndB}} PBR&B]] genre. He started his music career in the late 2000s as a songwriter before joining the [[{{Music/OFWGKTA}} Odd Future]] music collective in 2010. He released his debut mixtape, ''Nostalgia, Ultra'', in 2011, followed by his debut album ''Channel Orange'' in 2012, both to critical acclaim. After much delay, he released his second and third albums, ''Endless'' and ''Blonde'', just one day apart from each other in 2016.

Frank Ocean (born Christopher Lonny Edwin Breaux on October 28, 1987 in New Orleans, Louisiana), better known as Frank Ocean, is an American singer, songwriter, rapper and producer. His music is typically categorized as [[RhythmAndBlues R&B]] but covers a wide range of styles and influences, and he is considered one of the leading artists in the [[{{PBRAndB}} PBR&B]] genre. He started his music career in the late 2000s as a songwriter before joining the [[{{Music/OFWGKTA}} Odd Future]] music collective in 2010. He released his debut mixtape, ''Nostalgia, Ultra'', in 2011, followed by his debut album ''Channel Orange'' in 2012, both to critical acclaim. After much delay, he released his second and third albums, ''Endless'' and ''Blonde'', just one day apart from each other in 2016.

Christopher Francis Ocean (born Christopher Lonny Edwin Breaux on October 28, 1987 in New Orleans, Louisiana), better known as Frank Ocean, is an American singer, songwriter, rapper and producer. His music is typically categorized as [[RhythmAndBlues R&B]] but covers a wide range of styles and influences, and he is considered one of the leading artists in the [[{{PBRAndB}} PBR&B]] genre. He started his music career in the late 2000s as a songwriter before joining the [[{{Music/OFWGKTA}} Odd Future]] music collective in 2010. He released his debut mixtape, ''Nostalgia, Ultra'', in 2011, followed by his debut album ''Channel Orange'' in 2012, both to critical acclaim. After much delay, he released his second and third albums, ''Endless'' and ''Blonde'', just one day apart from each other in 2016.

!!Discography
* Studio Albums
** ''Channel Orange'' (2012)
** ''Endless'' (2016)
** ''Blonde'' (2016)
* Mixtapes
** ''Nostalgia, Ultra'' (2011)

* Studio Albums

Frank Ocean (born October 28, 1987 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper and producer. His music is typically categorized as [[RhythmAndBlues R&B]] but covers a wide range of styles and influences, and he is considered one of the leading artists in the [[{{PBRAndB}} PBR&B]] genre. He started his music career in the late 2000s as a songwriter before joining the [[{{Music/OFWGKTA}} Odd Future]] music collective in 2010. He released his debut mixtape, ''Nostalgia, Ultra'', in 2011, followed by his debut album ''Channel Orange'' in 2012, both to critical acclaim. After much delay, he released his second and third albums, ''Endless'' and ''Blonde'', just one day apart from each other in 2016.

Frank Ocean (born October 28, 1987 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper and producer. His music is typically categorized as R&B but covers a wide range of styles and influences, and he is considered one of the leading artists in the Music/PBRAndB genre. He started his music career in the late 2000s as a songwriter before joining the [[{{Music/OFWGKTA}} Odd Future]] music collective in 2010. He released his debut mixtape, ''Nostalgia, Ultra'', in 2011, followed by his debut album ''Channel Orange'' in 2012, both to critical acclaim. After much delay, he released his second and third albums, ''Endless'' and ''Blonde'', just one day apart from each other in 2016.

!!Provides examples of: