R&B singer says his first love was a man - Boston Globe

Ocean makes admission

Both Anderson Cooper and Frank Ocean made revelations about their sexuality this week, but Ocean’s could end up being the more significant announcement. Ocean â€" the rising R&B singer behind the single ‘‘Novacane’’ and the self-released album ‘‘nostalgia, ULTRA,’’ which critics heralded as among the best of 2011 â€" announced on his Tumblr page Wednesday that his first love was a man. He also tweeted a link to the post. Earlier this week, CNN’s Cooper acknowledged that he was gay. But the admission from the 24-year-old Ocean â€" who is part of the hip-hop collective Odd Future and was prominently featured on Jay-Z and Kanye West’s ‘‘Watch the Throne’’ album â€" is noteworthy because he inhabits the world of rap, where gay epithets are often used in lyrics. ‘‘I think it’s definitely important and it really signifies that there is a changing of the face of hip-hop,’’ said Chuck Creekmur, founder of the leading website allhiphop.com. Ocean wrote: ‘‘4 summers ago, I met somebody. I was 19. He was too. We spent that summer, and the summer after, together. Everyday almost. And on the days we were together, time would glide.’’ Ocean concludes the post: ‘‘I don’t have any secrets I need to keep anymore.’’ (AP)

Faulkner anniversary

Five decades after his death, William Faulkner still draws literary pilgrims to his Mississippi hometown, the ‘‘little postage stamp of native soil’’ he made famous through his novels. Oxford is commemorating the 50th anniversary of Faulkner’s death Friday with several events, including a tag-team reading of his novel ‘‘The Reivers,’’ beginning about daybreak. (AP)

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