FRANK OCEAN SUED FOR SAYING FATHER USED ANTI-GAY SLUR

Frank Ocean’s father is suing his son for defamation after the openly gay musician accused his father of using the word “faggot.”

Calvin Cooksey, the father, filed the suit after Ocean wrote a Tumblr post about the Orlando Pulse shooting, where 49 people were killed in an LGBT club. Ocean wrote:

I heard the gunman feigned dead among all the people he killed. I heard the news say he was one of us. I was six years old when I heard my dad call our transgender waitress a faggot as he dragged me out a neighborhood diner saying we wouldn’t be served because she was dirty. That was the last afternoon I saw my father and the first time I heard that word, I think, although it wouldn’t shock me if it wasn’t.

Cooksey says the story isn’t true and is damaging his career opportunities. He’s asking for $14.5 million in damages.

SOURCE: LGBTQ NATION

FRANK OCEAN'S NEW ALBUM PROVES A MASSIVE HIT

Fans have purchased enough copies of the record to ensure it debuts at number one on the September 10 edition of the Billboard album sales chart.

Blond’s first week sales finished behind just two other albums released this year – Drake’s ‘Views’ and Beyonce’s ‘Lemonade’.

Along with the 17 track album came a 140 minute visual album – titled Endless – and a 360-page glossy magazine called Boys Don’t Cry, which was expected to be the title of the record itself.

The magazine includes a series of photographs taken by Ocean, an interview with his mother, horoscopes and a selection of poems – including one titled ‘Boyfriend’.

In the poem, Ocean takes the reader back to the monumental Supreme Court marriage equality decision in June 2015.

Ocean spoke for many earlier this year, after writing a touching eulogy for the late singer Prince.

He later posted a tribute to those lost in the Orlando Pulse mass shooting which left 49 dead.

The singer won praise after he discussed his relationship with other men on his debut album.

Kanye West – who contributed to Boys Don’t Cry with a McDonald’s themed poem of his own – has spoken out in support of Ocean, praising the star for combatting homophobia in the music industry.

However, some in the industry have accused the ‘Lost’ singer of exploiting the LGBT community, with others refusing to work with him since he came out.

SOURCE: PINK NEWS

FRANK OCEAN'S POEM ABOUT HIS BOYFRIEND

A Grammy-winning male singer-songwriter has written a poem about his boyfriend, and in 2016, that's still news. 

Frank Ocean released two albums (one of them in the form of a film) and a zine within a 48-hour period, starting Friday. Fans have anticipated his album all year, but the release date kept being pushed back. Boys Don't Cry, Ocean's zine that was sold at pop-up shops throughout the country, features an essay the singer-songwriter penned about his love for cars, a poem called "Boyfriend," and a poem by Kanye West about McDonald's, among other ephemera, photographs, and art. 

Despite the rising visibility of queer singers, its not common to hear a major mainstream artist acknowledge same-sex love in a song or, in Ocean's case, a poem. Most notably, Sam Smith, the out British singer-songwriter, has been criticized for not using male pronouns in his music. Instead the English singer prefers to use gender-neutral pronouns in his songs. 

Ocean first shattered the queer glass ceiling in popular music back in 2012 when he penned a personal essay describing the first time he fell in love. The singer opened up about falling for another man. The R&B singer has been pushing that queer ceiling open since. 

In a thoughtful essay published soon after the Orlando mass shooting, Ocean recounted the first time he heard the word "faggot" used as an insult, by his father. "I was six years old when I heard my dad call our transgender waitress a faggot as he dragged me out a neighborhood diner saying we wouldn’t be served because she was dirty," he wrote. "That was the last afternoon I saw my father and the first time I heard that word, I think, although it wouldn’t shock me if it wasn’t."

In the same essay, Ocean wrote about people hating "us" and wishing "we" didn't exist, including himself as a member of the LGBT community: "Many are annoyed by our wanting to be married like everyone else or use the correct restroom like everyone else. Many don’t see anything wrong with passing down the same old values that send thousands of kids into suicidal depression each year."

In "Boyfriend," he takes the reader back to June 2015 and the monumental Supreme Court marriage equality decision:

i could say that i'm happy
they let me and my boyfriend become married
i could say that i'm happy
but cross my heart i didn't notice
hope to die no never, we voted
me and my boyfriend cast our ballot
every kiss reads like a poem
making wrongs right like a poem

Ocean describes the process of working on his new album Blonde as "romantic" in another essay from Boys Don't Cry. He writes about his obsession with cars and how Raf Simons, a Belgian fashion designer, called it cliché. "Maybe it links to a deep subconscious straight boy fantasy," Ocean writes. "Consciously though, I don't want straight — a little bent is good."

Read the full poem below.

"Boyfriend" by Frank Ocean

my boyfriend drives a lil bucket
when it rain it fills up with rain
my boyfriend he gon pick me up
don't distract him at the wheel
in his lane
he's the only one

my boyfriend he misses me when i'm gone
so he don't forget me
there's a song he sings
calms his nerve, endings
my boyfriend is friendly
and we don't want no problems

i could say that i'm happy
they let me and my boyfriend become married
i could say that i'm happy
but cross my heart i didn't notice
hope to die no never, we voted
me and my boyfriend cast our ballot
every kiss reads like a poem
making wrongs right like a poem

i couldn't say i dream of you
because my dreams are filled with no one
and all is lost
me and my boyfriend we found
we don't hope for beyonds at all
me and my boyfriend spend time
and that's all i'm holding on
this time

we got permission
nothing's above condition
but this ain't a thang
it's a mission

can't join the band so sing along
me and my boyfriend got it going on
sleep with fans and t shirts on
asleep in vans your legs all strewn
across my laptan lines where your watch was strapped

you took off to make time

cut your hair
you left it long
i love to stare
there's nothing wrong
and if i die while i'm asleep
i pray to God my boyfriend
keeps my secret
peace

SOURCE: THE ADVOCATE

FRANK OCEAN UNVEILS NEW VISUAL ALBUM 'ENDLESS'

Frank Ocean has finally delivered a follow-up to the 2012 phenomenon album Channel Orange, a new visual album titled Endless.

The out RNB artist unveiled the new visual album yesterday, an experimental mix of instrumental and vocal tracks.

Featuring an array of musicians, including Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood, James Blake and the London Contemporary Orchestra, Ocean builds a staircase showing a contemplative and deep style in this new direction.

In line with the new album, Apple has released a series of playlists including The Rise of Frank Ocean, Frank Ocean Samples and Frank Ocean’s Most Shazamed Tracks.

Endless Track List

1. Device Control
2. Alabama
3. U-N-I-T-Y
4. Commes Des Garcons
5. Wither
6. In Here Somewhere
7. At Your Best (You Are Love)
8. Mine
9. Ambience 001: In a Certain Way
10. Ambience 002: Honeybaby
11. Hublots
12. Slide on Me

SOURCE: GAY STAR NEWS