What happened to Frank Ocean's brother? Singer's heartfelt Coachella speech leaves fans emotional

Frank Ocean’s much-anticipated performance at the 2023 Coachella included the singer’s heartfelt message for his younger brother Ryan Breaux, who died in a car crash in 2020. Ryan was 18 back then. Frank took his opportunity during his headline slot on Sunday, April 16, and spoke about Ryan.

On August 2, 2020, California’s Ventura County Fire Department and the Thousand Oaks Police Department responded to a single-vehicle collision in Thousand Oaks at about 1:30 am. The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office stated that the car was engulfed in fire as they reached the scene. The vehicle was severely damaged, and due to the impact of the crash, it was cut in half.

Two male passengers, including Frank’s brother, were pronounced dead by the fire department. The other victim was identified as Ezekiel Bishop, 20.

Authorities investigating the case considered speed to be a factor in the car crash. Ventura County Sheriff’s Deputy Wendell Campbell stated that on that specific roadway, the speed limit was 45 mph north onwards. He also mentioned that with the roadway being wide in stretch, drivers tend to pick up speed at times.

---

Frank Ocean recalls attending Coachella with his late brother

Six years later, Frank Ocean returned to the live stage, closing the first weekend of the 2023 Coachella music festival. His last live performance was in 2017. The singer was previously scheduled to headline the music event in 2020, but the set did not come to fruition since the entire festival was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Frank Ocean started his set an hour later than the scheduled time. He kicked off his headline with his 2011 track Novacane, following which came Come On World, You Can’t Go!, Crack Rock, Bad Religion, and White Ferrari.

Fans had mixed reactions to Frank’s set. While some praised him for seeing him live after so many years, a few criticized the singer for appearing late for his performance and then having to end abruptly.

Frank Ocean later thanked his fans and told them that it had been so long since he last saw them live, adding that he missed them. He also teased his upcoming album, although he said it was not going to be released right now. The singer said:

“I wanna talk about why I’m here because it’s not because of a new album - no that there’s not an album, but there’s not right now.”

The In My Room hitmaker then shared that he used to come to the Coachella music festival with his brother Ryan before the latter died in 2020. He told the crowd that he felt like he used to get dragged to the festival half of the time because he hated the dust.

The 35-year-old singer said he always left Coachella with a respiratory infection or something of that sort, so he used to try to avoid attending the festival but would always end up there anyway. Frank shared that his fondest memory from the festival was watching the hip-hop duo Rae Sremmurd perform on stage. He recalled sharing the experience with his brother and rapper Travis "Taco" Bennet.

Frank Ocean further described how they were dancing and vibing to Rae Sremmurd's music. He added:

"I know he would’ve been so excited to be here with all of us and I want to say thank you for the support and the ears and the love over all this time.”

Fans and the crowd were left emotional during Frank Ocean's short speech about his brother.

Following his short speech and the emotional remembrance of his brother Ray, Frank Ocean continued to perform his other songs, including Solo, Lost, Chanel, Pink + White, Provider, etc. After singing covers for At Your Best (You Are Love) by Aaliyah, Frank informed the audience that the festival had reached its curfew limit, so he had to end his set.