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US r&b star Frank Ocean has spoken for the first time about his 'coming out', when he recently revealed a love affair with another man during his younger years.

Ocean, in an interview to be published by The Guardian, says that he feels that a weight has been lifted from him since he made the information public earlier this month.

Speaking to the newspaper in his only interview, Ocean says the move was "about my own sanity and my ability to feel like I'm living a life where … I'm happy when I wake up in the morning, and not with this freakin' boulder on my chest."

Ocean also stated that he did it partly to help others who may need an example to look up to: "I wished at 13 there was somebody I looked up to who would have said something like that, who would have been transparent in that way," he said.

Tackling the issue of becoming a target of hatred over his sexuality, Ocean remains nonplussed, saying as a member of other minorities he is always under some sense of threat: "People are just afraid of things too much … Sure, evil exists, extremism exists. Somebody could commit a hate crime and hurt me. But they could do the same just because I'm black. They could do the same just because I'm American."

'Channel Orange' recently charted at number two in the UK and US whilst Ocean himself has received praise from the likes of Adele and 50 Cent.