Frank Ocean pays tribute to Prince for helping him come to terms with his sexuality

Tributes have been flooding in for Prince in the wake of the legendary star’s untimely death at the age of 57 yesterday (April 21), including one moving tribute from Frank Ocean.

The US singer and rapper posted a touching tribute on his Tumblr in the wake of the news, crediting the Purple Rain singer’s flamboyant style and sexual ambiguity for helping him come to terms with his own sexuality.

“I’m not even gonna say rest in peace because it’s bigger than death”, Ocean wrote. “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 irreverence for obviously archaic ideas like gender conformity etc.

“He moved me to be more daring and intuitive with my own work through his demonstration – his denial of the prevailing model.”

He added: “I’m proud to be a Prince fan (stan) for life.”

Prince was found dead at his home after collapsing in a lift in Minnesota on Thursday morning (April 21).

The official cause of death is as-yet unconfirmed.

The news comes just five days after the Purple Rain singer, born Prince Rogers Nelson, was rushed to hospital after reportedly suffering with the effects of flu for several weeks. He was released from hospital three hours after being admitted.

Prince rose to prominence in the early 1980s with his albums 1999 and Purple Rain, going on to sell more than 100 million records during a career spanning five decades. An accomplished singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, he was notorious for his flamboyant stage presence and is widely regarded as one of the greatest musical innovators of the late 20th century for his eclectic musical style.