Cyrus Langhorne
Odd Future‘s Frank Ocean is not the type to bite his tongue. The R&B crooner has penned an incredibly epic open letter to the Grammy Awards ceremony makers.
In response to a dicey joint interview from producer Ken Ehrlich and writer David Wild, Ocean relied on Tumblr this weekend to speak up on his image.
Within their interview, Grammy Awards key members David Wild and Ken Ehrlich reflected on when Ocean performed in 2013.
Wild explained that Frank Ocean’s noticeably awkward, minimally staged performance at the 2013 Grammys was entirely Ocean’s vision. “Frank had a very definite idea of exactly what he wanted to do and how he wanted to do it,” Wild said. “Ken said, that’s not great TV, and what he’s taught all of us is, ‘We’re not putting on a radio show … you have to make it a TV moment.’ And he knew from the start that that was not one of those moments.” (Rolling Stone)
Last month, buzz developed about key musicians likely not attending this year’s Grammy Awards show.
We’re told Justin Bieber, who’s nominated for 4 Grammys, plans to be somewhere other than the Grammys a week from Sunday. As for why, we’re told he just doesn’t think the Grammys are relevant or representative, especially when it comes to young singers. Drake has 8 nominations but we’re told he also doesn’t plan to be there … we’re told he’ll be on tour in Europe. As for Kanye, who’s got 8 noms, he received 21 Grammys in the past, but he always lost when he went head-to-head against a white singer. (TMZ)
Back in November, Frank Ocean talked about his issues with the Grammy Awards.
“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.” He noted that since he was born, just a few black artists have won album of the year, including Quincy Jones, Herbie Hancock and Ray Charles. … I think the infrastructure of the awarding system and the nomination system and screening system is dated. I’d rather this be my Colin Kaepernick moment for the Grammys than sit there in the audience.” (New York Times)
