Both Frank and Oceanic

As happens in many of his lyrics, the narrative of 24-year-old Los Angeles R&B; singer-songwriter Frank Ocean's career has taken an unpredictable turn.

Not long ago, he was a moderately well known up-and-comer, a member of hip-hop collective Odd Future who had written for stars like Beyonc and Justin Bieber, guested with Kanye West and Jay-Z and released the download-only critics' darling Nostalgia, Ultra. His first major-label album, Channel Orange, was due July 17. Then rumors began to circulate online that some of its songs were addressed to male love interests. On July 3 on his Tumblr site, Ocean posted liner...