NATURAL SOUND (NO REPORTER NARRATION)
STORY: Rap legend Chuck D. spoke out about the controversy surrounding the admission of love for another man by up-and-coming singer Frank Ocean recently.
He along with Ice-T were in London on Thursday (July 19) for the premiere of Ice-T's directorial documentary debut "Something for Nothing: The Art of Rap".
"I think Frank Ocean's a young, black male who's an R&B singer, he's not hip-hop. And it wasn't a statement against Frank Ocean, it was a statement against the laziness of journalists who don't know what hip-hop and rap music really is. Hip-hop is clearly something else but still related to R&B singing. Is it a forward move for the hip-hop community? The hip-hop community to me is still the elements of rap music and we can't take that too lightly. Yes, it's black music but it's not hip-hop, he's an R&B singer and we should say as much," said Chuck D, formerly of militant rap group Public Enemy which found commercial success in the Nineties.
Ocean, part of the rap collective Odd Future, recently revealed online that his first love was a man, an admission of same-sex attraction that is seen as groundbreaking for the world of hip hop.
Ocean, late on July 4, posted on Twitter a link to his writings on his Tumblr blog page that described his coming to terms with his sexual orientation. But he did not specifically call himself gay.
The post came as Ocean faced rumours about his sexuality due to content on his forthcoming album, "Channel Orange," that one reviewer pointed out had love-themed lyrics with the word "him" instead of "her."
Hip hop has often faced criticism for being hostile to gays. Last year, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation singled out Tyler, The Creator - a rap star whose real name is Tyler Gregory Okonma and who leads Odd Future - for lyrics GLAAD said were derogatory toward homosexuals.
Chuck D. later took the stage in the evening to perform one of Public Enemy's hits "Bring The Noise".
