Background information
Birth name Christopher Breaux
Born October 28, 1987 (age 25)
Long Beach, California
Origin New Orleans, Louisiana
Genres R&B[1][2][3]
Occupations Singer-songwriter[3]
Instruments Vocals, keyboards
Years active 2007–present
Labels Odd Future Records, Def Jam, The Island Def Jam Music Group
Associated acts Odd Future, Kanye West, Jay-Z
Website frankocean.com
Christopher Francis Ocean (born Christopher Breaux; October 28, 1987), better known by his stage name Frank Ocean, is an American singer-songwriter from New Orleans, Louisiana. Ocean's early career was as a ghostwriter for artists such as Brandy, Justin Bieber, and John Legend. In 2010, he became a member of alternative hip hop collective OFWGKTA, and his debut mixtape, Nostalgia, Ultra, was released the following year to critical acclaim. He released two singles: "Novacane" and 'Swim Good", which both achieved chart success. The mixtape gained the interest of recording artists such as Kanye West, Beyoncé Knowles and Jay-Z, and he consequently appeared on West and Jay-Z's Watch the Throne album.
In 2012, the BBC announced that Ocean finished second place in its Sound of 2012 poll.[4] Ocean appeared at the Coachella Festival as well as at Lollapalooza at the end of his 2012 summer tour.[5]
His debut studio album, Channel Orange, was released in July 2012. The album was promoted with three charting singles: "Thinkin Bout You", "Pyramids", and "Sweet Life". Ocean wrote an open letter, intended for the liner notes on Channel Orange, that would preemptively address "speculation about his same-sex attraction;"[6] he instead blogged it on Tumblr.[7][8] Ocean became one of the first major African-American music artists to announce that he had fallen in love with someone of the same sex, notable because the industry is known for homophobia