I noted last week that singer/songwriter Frank Ocean had come out and acknowledged that his first love was another man causing a stir in both the hip-hop and R&B music worlds. Last night Ocean made his first ever television appearance on Jimmy Fallon's stage and performed out "Bad Religion," which is a track from his debut album Channel Orange. A video clip is set out below. As noted in my post last week, part of Frank Ocean's coming out statement was “I don’t have any secrets I need kept any more.” He's apparently making good on that statement since the lyrics of "Bad Religion" read in part as follows:
This unrequited love
To me it's nothing but
A one-man cult
And cyanide in my styrofoam cup
I could never make him love me
Never make him love me
Love
Love
…
It's a bad religion
To be in love with someone
Who could never love you
I know
Only bad religion
Could have me feeling the way I do
Needless to say, I also believe that the title of the song sends a message about religion that focuses on fear and hatred of others. Here's the video clip:
I continue to wish Ocean the best of everything on his journey. From my own experience, admitting who one really is and not feeling the need to lie and hide anymore is a remarkable, liberating experience. For me, it was as if a huge, huge weight had been taken off of me. Yes, moments of fear persisted at times, but over all, it was perhaps the most soul restoring thing I have experienced. I sincerely hope that Ocean finds the liberation and self-acceptance that I found. I also hope that his courage will inspire others to stop lying to both themselves and those around them.
No comments:
Post a Comment