50 Cent Defends Frank Ocean, Supports Marriage Equality

50 Cent

Rapper 50 Cent sounded supportive of same-sex marriage and of out singer Frank Ocean in an interview with MTV UK, warning the market that Ocean's success or failure could be a turning point for hip-hop.

"Obama is for same-sex marriage," he said. "If the president is saying that, then who am I to go the other way?" 50 Cent followed Jay-Z, Will Smith, and T.I. in saying they support the president's stance.

And 50 Cent had tough words for anyone who has a problem with Ocean, whose new album, Channel Orange, has had a stellar debut. It opened at No. 2 on Billboard’s Top 200 Album Chart.

"Anyone that has an issue with Frank Ocean is an idiot," 50 Cent said in the interview. "I think Frank Ocean is a talented artist, I think he's created material that made me know his name, that impressed me, with things he said on a song like 'Novacane.'"

50 Cent said Ocean's decision to come out before his album dropped could be "revolutionary." But he was cautious about what might happen next.

"The results of how popular the music becomes now would say how cool or uncool it is to being open," he said, "so I'm sure the gay community will go out and support Frank Ocean. They have to. Because the more successful that project is now is going to leave people in a position to say, look, I'm gay."

Watch the complete interview below, then listen to "Novacane" (explicit).