Frank Ocean: 'I'm a Proud Prince Fan (Stan) for Life'

Frank Ocean, who has been mostly reclusive since teasing a follow-up to his 2012 album Channel Orange, wrote a touching, honest tribute to Prince following news of the artist's death at his Minneapolis recording studio on Thursday.

"I'm not even gonna say rest in peace because it's bigger than death," Ocean wrote on his Tumblr page. The young R&B star continued to detail how he never had the chance to meet the musician or see him live, though he did see him in person once. "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," he wrote.

Much of Ocean's tribute paid heed to the late artist's "rebellion against exploitation," citing moments like Prince's name change to a symbol and him writing the word "SLAVE" on his face as a response to a contentious relationship with Warner Music.

The most poignant moment of the message is Ocean revealing how important Prince was to discovering and feeling comfortable with his own sexuality, a testament to the artist's fearless ambiguity.

 In 2012, Ocean opened up about his sexuality, admitting to have once fallen in love with another man, though not attaching a label to his identification. "He was a straight black man who played his first televised set in bikini bottoms and knee high heeled boots, epic," he begins. "He made me feel more comfortable with how I identify sexually simply by his display of freedom from and irreverence for obviously archaic ideas like gender conformity etc."

Read Frank Ocean's Tumblr tribute to Prince below:

I'm not even gonna say rest in peace because it's bigger than death. I never met the man (I was too nervous the one time I saw him) and I never saw him play live, regrettably. 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.

My assessment is that he learned early on how little value to assign to someone else's opinion of you…an infectious sentiment that seemed soaked into his clothes, his hair, his walk, his guitar and his primal scream. He wrote my favorite song of all time, "When You Were Mine." It's a simple song with a simple melody that makes you wish you thought of it first, even though you never would have — a flirtatious brand of genius that feels approachable.

He was a straight black man who played his first televised set in bikini bottoms and knee high heeled boots, epic. He made me feel more comfortable with how I identify sexually simply by his display of freedom from and irreverence for obviously archaic ideas like gender conformity etc. He moved me to be more daring and intuitive with my own work by his demonstration — his denial of the prevailing model … His fight for his intellectual property — "SLAVE" written across the forehead, name changed to a symbol…An all out rebellion against exploitation.

A vanguard and genius by every metric I know of who affected many in a way that will outrun oblivion for a long while. I'm proud to be a Prince fan(stan) for life.