Background and career
Frank Ocean (born Christopher Edwin Breaux, October 28, 1987) is an American singer and songwriter. His accolades include two Grammy Awards and a Brit Award. He has been credited by several music critics as a pioneer of the alternative R&B genre. Ocean began his musical career as a ghostwriter before joining the Los Angeles-based hip hop collective Odd Future in 2010. The year prior, he signed with RedZone Entertainment, an imprint of Def Jam Recordings, although his debut mixtape, Nostalgia, Ultra (2011), was released independently. His debut studio album, Channel Orange (2012) won Best Urban Contemporary Album; its lead single, "Thinkin Bout You", was nominated for Record of the Year. He was named by Time as one of the world's 100 most influential people in 2013. After a four-year hiatus, Ocean released the visual album Endless (2016) to fulfill contractual obligations with Def Jam. His second studio album, Blonde, was released independently the following day. Blonde was met with critical praise, and debuted atop the US Billboard 200. After 2017, Ocean has released sporadic singles, worked as a photographer for magazines, launched the fashion brand Homer, and started Homer Radio. Ocean has sold over 2 million albums worldwide.
Ocean was born Christopher Edwin Breaux on October 28, 1987, in Long Beach, California, to Calvin Cooksey, a singer and keyboardist, and Katonya Breaux Riley, an entrepreneur. His parents divorced when he was six years old, and he was raised by his mother. At age five, his family moved to New Orleans, Louisiana. Ocean was raised Christian and spent a brief period as a practicing Catholic. Ocean's maternal grandfather Lionel McGruder Jr. was a father figure for Ocean after his father left the family. Lionel was a recovering drug addict and later served as a mentor at Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings. He would take Ocean to these meetings, which was the inspiration behind Ocean's song "Crack Rock" from Channel Orange. He also gave him the nickname Lonny, which Frank Ocean still uses today. He died in 2010 and Frank Ocean dedicated a song to him called "There Will Be Tears" on his mixtape Nostalgia, Ultra. He also mentioned him on his 2017 single "Lens". After graduating from John Ehret High School in Marrero, Louisiana in 2005, Ocean enrolled in the University of New Orleans to study English. However, Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans in August 2005, destroying his home and personal recording facility and forcing him to transfer to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He stayed there for a brief time before dropping out to focus on his music career.
In 2006, Ocean moved to Los Angeles to pursue his music career, working at various fast-food and service jobs to support himself. In less than three years, he established himself as a songwriter under the name Lonny Breaux. After getting a songwriting deal, Ocean wrote songs for artists including Justin Bieber, Beyoncé, John Legend, and Brandy. Ocean later said of his work at the time, "There was a point where I was composing for other people, and it might have been comfy to continue to do that and enjoy that income stream and the anonymity. But that's not why I moved away from school and away from family." He adopted the stage name Frank Ocean, getting the name from Frank Sinatra and the 1960 heist film Ocean's 11, which Sinatra starred in. Soon after, he joined Los Angeles-based hip hop collective Odd Future, whom he had met in 2009. His friendship with Odd Future member Tyler, the Creator reinvigorated Ocean's songwriting. In late 2009, he met Tricky Stewart, who helped him sign a writing contract with Def Jam Recordings. Ocean felt neglected by the label, and began working on a mixtape on his own without their input. On February 16, 2011, Ocean self-released the resulting mixtape, Nostalgia, Ultra online for free. The mixtape received critical acclaim. The mixtape focuses on interpersonal relationships, personal reflection and social commentary. NPR's Andrew Noz said Ocean's songwriting is "smart and subtle...setting him apart from the pack". Rolling Stone magazine's Jonah Weiner wrote that Ocean was a "gifted avant-R&B smoothie".
In April 2011, Ocean stated that his relationship with Def Jam had strengthened since the release of the Nostalgia, Ultra. The mixtape made Ocean widely known and led to his collaborations with rappers Jay-Z and Kanye West. Ocean first appeared in Tyler, the Creator's music video for the single "She", from Tyler's second studio album Goblin (2011). His first performance was in collaboration with Odd Future at the 2011 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, where he later joined them for their first tour across the east coast of the United States. On May 19, 2011, Ocean's record label Def Jam announced its plans to re-release Nostalgia, Ultra as an EP. The single "Novacane" was released to iTunes in May 2011, and the EP originally was set to be released the next month, but was delayed. In June 2011, Ocean revealed that he would work on the upcoming Kanye West and Jay-Z collaborative album, Watch the Throne. Ocean co-wrote and featured on two tracks: "No Church in the Wild" and "Made in America". On July 28, 2011, a song titled "Thinkin Bout You", leaked on the internet. It was later revealed the song was a reference track, written by Ocean, for Roc Nation artist Bridget Kelly's debut studio album. Kelly renamed the song 'Thinking About Forever'. In September 2011, a music video directed by High5Collective for Ocean's version was released, yet the song still appeared on Kelly's debut EP Every Girl. In August 2011, Frank Ocean made his first appearance on the cover of the publication The Fader, in its 75th issue.
Ocean released the cover art for his debut studio album's lead single, titled "Thinkin Bout You", revealing the song would be released to digital retailers on April 10, 2012. However, a month earlier, a re-mastered version of the song had already leaked. About the prospective single he said: "It succinctly defines me as an artist for where I am right now and that was the aim," he said of the follow-up to his acclaimed Nostalgia, Ultra. "It's about the stories. If I write 14 stories that I love, then the next step is to get the environment of music around it to best envelop the story and all kinds of sonic goodness."
In 2012, Ocean released his debut studio album Channel Orange to universal acclaim from critics, who later named it the best album of the year in the HMV's Poll of Polls. It also earned Ocean six Grammy Award nominations and was credited by some writers for moving the R&B genre in a different, more challenging direction. Considered as Ocean's first commercial release on a traditional record label, Channel Orange featured unconventional songs that were noted for their storytelling and social commentary, and a dense musical fusion that drew on jazz, soul, and R&B. Funk and electronic music also influenced his album. The songs about unrequited love in particular received the most attention, partly because of Ocean's announcement prior to the album's release, when he revealed that his first love was a man. The announcement made global headlines, and some critics compared its cultural impact to when David Bowie revealed that he was bisexual in 1972.
