Frank Ocean, American singer-songwriter
Christopher Breaux (born October 28, 1987), known professionally as Frank Ocean, is an American singer, songwriter, and rapper. He has been described as one of the greatest songwriters of his generation, and is recognized for his idiosyncratic musical style, introspective and elliptical lyrics, and wide vocal range. Ocean is credited with pioneering and popularizing alternative R&B, and is known for his intermittent and experimental musical approach.Ocean began his musical career as a ghostwriter, prior to joining the hip hop collective Odd Future in 2010. In 2011, Ocean released his critically successful debut mixtape Nostalgia, Ultra and subsequently secured a recording contract with Def Jam Recordings. Drawing on electro-funk, pop-soul, jazz-funk, and psychedelia, Ocean's debut album Channel Orange (2012) was one of the most acclaimed albums of 2012. It was nominated for Album of the Year and won Best Urban Contemporary Album at the 2013 Grammy Awards, while the album's hit single "Thinkin Bout You" garnered Ocean a nomination for Record of the Year.
After a four-year hiatus, Ocean released the visual project Endless (2016) to fulfill contractual obligations with Def Jam, before self-releasing his highly anticipated second album Blonde (2016) a day later. Blonde debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Encompassing experimental, soul, and psychedelic music, the album received widespread critical success.Among his accolades, Ocean has won two Grammy Awards and a Brit Award for International Male Solo Artist. He was named by Time as one the world's most influential people in 2013, while his albums have been listed in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (2020). Outside music, Ocean has collaborated as a photographer with Vogue and i-D, and founded the luxury brand Homer.
1987Oct, 28
Frank Ocean
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Events on 1987
- 27Apr
Kurt Waldheim
The U.S. Department of Justice bars Austrian President Kurt Waldheim (and his wife, Elisabeth, who had also been a Nazi) from entering the USA, charging that he had aided in the deportations and executions of thousands of Jews and others as a German Army officer during World War II. - 1May
Auschwitz concentration camp
Pope John Paul II beatifies Edith Stein, a Jewish-born Carmelite nun who was gassed in the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz. - 5Jul
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
Sri Lankan Civil War: The LTTE uses suicide attacks on the Sri Lankan Army for the first time. The Black Tigers are born and, in the following years, will continue to kill with the tactic. - 27Jul
RMS Titanic
RMS Titanic Inc. begins the first expedited salvage of wreckage of the RMS Titanic. - 7Nov
Habib Bourguiba
In Tunisia, president Habib Bourguiba is overthrown and replaced by Prime Minister Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.