Christopher Francis Ocean (born Christopher Edwin Breaux: October 28, 1987), better known professionally as Frank Ocean, is an American singer and rapper known for his styles in his music.
Life[]
Ocean was born Christopher Edwin Breaux on October 28, 1987, in Long Beach, California. When he was five years old, he and his family relocated to New Orleans. After graduating from high school in 2005, Ocean enrolled in the University of New Orleans to study English. However, Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans in August, destroying his home and personal recording facility, 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.
Career[]
In 2006, Ocean moved to Los Angeles to pursue his music career, working at various fast-food and service jobs to support himself. He established himself as a songwriter under the name Lonny Breaux, getting the first name 'Lonny' after his grandfather named Lionel, whom Ocean hung out with often in his childhood. After getting a songwriting deal, Ocean wrote songs for artists including Justin Bieber, Beyoncé, and John Legend.
He adopted the stage name Frank Ocean, getting the name from singer Frank Sinatra and the 1960s film Ocean's 11, which Sinatra starred in. Soon after, he joined the hip hop collective Odd Future, whom he had met in 2009.
His friendship with member Tyler, the Creator motivated 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. In February 2011, Ocean released the resulting mixtape, Nostalgia, Ultra online for free.
In 2012, he released his debut studio album Channel Orange. It earned Ocean six Grammy Award nominations and was credited by some writers for moving the R&B genre in a different, more challenging direction.
In 2016, he released his second studio album Blonde. He spent a month after the release of Blonde, traveling to countries such as China, Japan and France. He also chose not to submit Blonde for consideration at the Grammy Awards, stating "that institution certainly has nostalgic importance; it just doesn't seem to be representing very well for people who come from where I come from, and hold down what I hold down."
Channel[]
Ocean created his channel on March 11, 2017, and he uploaded his first video on June 27, 2017. He uploaded audio of his music to the channel. He has not uploaded since 2019.
