Frank Ocean (born Christopher Edwin Breaux) is an American singer, songwriter, and rapper. His musical style is an eclectic blend of influences from Hip Hop, R&B, Soul and Electronic music, to name a few. His career as an artist began as a member of the Odd Future, a rap group he joined in 2010. He released his debut mixtape, Nostalgia, Ultra, in 2011, which helped him land a deal with Deaf Jam Recordings. Ocean’s first album, Channel Orange (released in 2012) went on to receive a nomination for Album of the Year and won Best Urban Contemporary Album at the 2013 Grammy Awards. His single “Thinkin Bout You” was also nominated for Record of the Year.
Following a four-year gap in his career, Frank Ocean released two albums in 2016. The first, a visual album titled Endless, was released to fulfill to his contract with Def Jam Recordings. 24 hours later, Ocean released his second studio album, Blonde. On this project, Ocean evoked themes of queerness, love, and drug use. Although the artist chose not to submit Blonde for consideration at the Grammy Awards, it has received critical acclaim from Forbes, Time and is certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Frank Ocean has worked with several popular names in the music industry. He has notably appeared on songs with Jay-Z, Kanye West, Tyler, The Creator, Calvin Harris, Andre 3000, Beyoncé, A$AP Rocky, Earl Sweatshirt and John Mayer. His career has also ventured beyond the music industry, notably with the magazine Boys Don’t Cry and the fashion brand Homer.