Show Of Support of the Day
When 24-year-old Odd Future member Frank Ocean admitted on Tumblr last week to falling in love with a man, it was quite the shock to the hip-hop world, notorious for its tendency to disparage gays.
Nonetheless, Ocean's bandmate Tyler, the Creator tweeted a classy congrats, and Def Jam's Russell Simmons said Ocean "changed the game" for hip hop in a positive way.
Now, industry royalty Beyoncé and Jay-Z have joined the ranks of Ocean's supporters.
Beyoncé, whose track "I Miss You" was written by Ocean, posted a pic of Ocean to her site over the weekend. The overlay reads:
Be fearless / Be honest / Be generous / Be brave / Be poetic / Be open / Be free / Be yourself / Be in love / Be happy / Be inspiration.
Beyoncé's show of support was one-upped only by hubby Jay-Z -- a powerful missive to Ocean (penned by dream hampton) on his site is more than worth a full read, but here's the money excerpt:
We admire the great courage and beauty and fearlessness in your coming out, not only as a bisexual Black man, but as a broken hearted one. The tender irony that your letter is to a boy who was unable to return your love until years later because he was living a lie is the only truly tragic detail about your letter.