New Music Mondays...FRANK OCEAN

Good Monday Music Lovers,
It's been a scorcher, and I'm all about all things hot! This week I bring you one of musics hottest newbies, Christopher Francis Ocean, better known by his stage name, Frank Ocean.

Frank Ocean is an American singer-songwriter from New Orleans, Louisiana. Ocean's early career was as a ghostwriter for artists such as Brandy, Justin Bieber, and John Legend. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit Ocean's hometown of New Orleans; his recording facility was destroyed by floodwater and looted. To continue recording music, he moved to Los Angeles, where he intended to stay for six weeks. However, after acclimating himself with music industry circles, Ocean stayed longer and develop his music career.

He recorded demos at a friend's studio and shopped them around Los Angeles. After getting a songwriting deal, he started working with other record producers and writing songs for artists such as Justin Bieber, John Legend, and Brandy. Ocean later said of his work at the time, "There was a point where I was composing for other people, and it might have been comfy to continue to do that and enjoy that income stream and the anonymity. But that's not why I moved away from school and away from family."

After meeting them in 2009 through networking, Ocean joined the Los Angeles-based hip hop collective OFWGKTA, also known as Odd Future. His friendship with Odd Future member Tyler, The Creator, reinvigorated Ocean's songwriting. In late 2009, he met Tricky Stewart, who helped him sign a contract with Def Jam Recordings as a solo artist, though he was initially unable to build a relationship with the company.

In 2010, through a legal website, he changed his name from Christopher Breaux to Christopher Francis William Ocean, inspired partly by the 1960 film Ocean's 11. Ocean is also known for being one of the first mainstream hip hop artists to come out a a gay male. To my surprise and delight The hip hop world exploded with support for singer Frank Ocean when he revealed his first love was a man.

So take a load off and enjoy this innovative musician with two of my favorite songs by Ocean, "Thinking About You" and "Crack Rock".

See you next week with my new music obsession!
xoxoxoxo Najamoniq
 "Music is the mediator between the spiritual and the sensual life." ~Ludwig van Beethoven