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Frank Ocean Reveals How Prince Changed His Life

Read his touching tribute to the late icon.

Social media is flooded with people sharing all the ways in which Prince impacted their lives, but a touching tribute by Frank Ocean posted to Tumblr truly stands out.
The R&B singer took to his tumblr to express his sadness over the loss of late, great icon, who passed away at his home on Thursday morning, and also expressed his gratitude to the intrepid rock star for not only showing him the power of music, but helping him feel more comfortable with his own sexuality.

Ocean began his post, "I'm not even gonna say rest in peace because it's bigger than death." He went on to explain that while he never had the chance to see Prince perform, or even meet him in person, he learned so much through his work. "I only know the legends I've heard from folks and what I've heard and seen from his deep catalog of propellant, fearless, virtuosic work," Ocean wrote.

"He wrote my favorite song of all time, 'When You Were Mine.' It's a simply song with a simple melody that makes you wish you had thought of it first, even thought you never would have - a flirtatious brand of genius that feels approachable," he continued.

The most meaningful part of the tribute came when Ocean talked about how Prince paved the way for him to accept himself as a non-conforming individual. "He was a straight black man who played his first televised set in bikini bottoms and knee high heeled boots, epic," Ocean wrote. "He made me feel more comfortable with how I identify sexually simply by his display of freedom from irreverence for obviously archaic ideas like gender conformity, etc."

Ocean signed off by thanking Prince, as so many have felt compelled to do on this tragic day. "A vanguard and genius by every metric I know of who affected many in a way that will ourtun oblivion for a long while," he wrote. "I am proud to be a Prince fan (stan) for life."

Well said.

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