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Frank Ocean Speaks Out on His Sexuality

"I knew people would ask questions," the R&B singer says about his now-famous letter.

Frank Ocean is finally clearing up any ambiguity stemming from his bold letter...or is he?

The R&B singer, whose debut album Channel Orange has received critical raves, broke his silence on the topic of his sexuality to UK newspaper The Guardian:

"I knew that I was writing in a way that people would ask questions," Ocean acknowledges. "I knew that my star was rising, and I knew that if I waited I would always have somebody that I respected be able to encourage me to wait longer, to not say it till who knows when."

While he stops just short of declaring that he's gay, Ocean does say he feels relieved. The Odd Future member says he wants "to feel like I’m living a life where I’m not just successful on paper, but sure that I’m happy when I wake up in the morning, and not with this freakin’ boulder on my chest."

As for his lyrics, which sometimes reference relationships with men, he says:

"When you write a song like 'Forrest Gump,' the subject can’t be androgynous. It requires an unnecessary amount of effort. I don’t fear anybody. So, to answer your question, yes, I could have easily changed the words. But for what?"

Ocean's letter, in which he reveals a past relationship with a man, has been met with tremendous support from within the hip hop community, with artists like Beyoncé, 50 Cent and Tyler, the Creator publicly applauding him for his honesty.

And the move hasn't hurt his record sales either. Channel Orange debuted at No. 2 on the US pop charts and has already sold upwards of 131,000 copies according to Nielsen SoundScan.


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