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March 28, 2024

Interview: Frank Ocean Talks Boycott of Grammy’s, Leaving Def Jam & More

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After releasing his long-awaited album Blonde back in August, two-time Grammy Award winner Frank Ocean is being very vocal about his music. He is boycotting the 2017 Grammy Awards and has sustained from submitting his latest album for consideration.

Frank spoke candidly with The NY Times about his decision saying,

‘That institution certainly has nostalgic importance,” he said. “It just doesn’t seem to be representing very well for people who come from where I come from, and hold down what I hold down. I think the infrastructure of the awarding system and the nomination system and screening system is dated,’ he said. ‘I’d rather this be my Colin Kaepernick moment for the Grammys than sit there in the audience.’

He also talked about his choice to leave Def Jam and buying himself out of his contract using his own money.

‘It started to weigh on me that I was responsible for the moves that had made me successful, but I wasn’t reaping the lion’s share of the profits, and that was problematic for me,’ he said. ‘With [Blonde] in particular, I wanted to feel like I won before the record came out, and I did, and so it took a lot pressure off of me about how the record even would perform after the fact. Once the goal is met, everything else is lagniappe. It’s not essential for me to have a big debut week, it’s not essential for me to have big radio records.’

You can read the full article over at The NY Times.