Frank Ocean

Christopher Francis Ocean (born Christopher Edwin Breaux; October 28, 1987) is an American singer, songwriter, and rapper. According to some music critics his works feature avant-garde styles and introspective, elliptical lyrics. Ocean has won two Grammy Awards and a Brit Award for International Male Solo Artist among other accolades, and his two studio albums have been listed on Rolling Stones "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" (2020). Ocean began his musical career as a ghostwriter, prior to joining the hip hop collective Odd Future in 2010. The following year, he released his first mixtape, Nostalgia, Ultra, and subsequently secured a recording contract with Def Jam Recordings. His first studio album, the eclectic Channel Orange (2012), incorporated R&B and soul styles. At the 2013 Grammy Awards, Channel Orange was nominated for Album of the Year and won Best Urban Contemporary Album; one of its singles, "Thinkin Bout You", was nominated for Record of the Year. He was named by Time as one of the world's most influential people in 2013. After a four-year hiatus, Ocean released a visual album titled Endless in 2016 to fulfill contractual obligations with Def Jam. Ocean self-released his second studio album, Blonde, a day after Endless release. Blonde expanded on Ocean's experimental musical approach and ranked first on Pitchfork list of the best albums of the 2010s decade. It was his first number-one album on the US Billboard 200 and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). From 2017 onwards, Ocean released sporadic singles, worked as a photographer for magazines, launched the fashion brand Homer, and started Homer Radio. Early life Ocean was born Christopher Edwin Breaux on October 28, 1987, in Long Beach, California. His father is Calvin Edward Cooksey and was a singer and keyboardist, and his mother is Katonya Breaux Riley who later worked as a residential contractor. He was raised by his mother after his parents divorced when he was six years old. He also had a younger brother named Ryan Breaux who died in a car accident in 2020. When he was five years old, he and his family relocated to the New Orleans area. He was raised Christian, including a brief time as a practicing Catholic.