Two members of the Grammy’s creative team publicly criticized Frank Ocean recently for his faulty 2013 performance and his decision not to submit an entry for this year’s Grammys.
Frank Ocean has hit back at two members of the Grammys’ creative team who publicly criticised both Ocean’s 2013 Grammy performance and his decision this year to not submit his latest album, ‘Blonde’, for consideration.
Grammy producer Ken Ehrlich and writer David Wild – two core members of the Grammys’ creative team – discussed Ocean’s history with the awards show during a recent interview with Rolling Stone, specifically referring to the artist’s appearance at the 2013 ceremony where he won Best Urban Contemporary Album for 2012’s ‘Channel Orange’.
Wild recalled that, after Ocean pitched his idea for his live performance of ‘Forrest Gump’, Ehrlich replied: “That’s not great TV.” The producer then called the resulting performance “rigid” and “faulty”.
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Ocean has now hit back at the pair through a post on his Tumblr account. Directing his missive at Ehrlich and Wild, Ocean says he loathes “to make you guys famous or even respond to you directly. We all die one day and you’re old so f--k it,” before continuing:
“Yea yea my 2013 performance at the Grammys was absolute sh!t. Technical difficulties, blah blah. Thanks for the reminder. Very much appreciated. F--k that performance though. You think that’s why I kept my work out of the Grammy process this year? Don’t you think I would’ve wanted to play the show to ‘redeem’ myself if I felt that way?
“In reality, I actually wanted to participate in honoring Prince on the show but then I figured my best tribute to that man’s legacy would be to continue to be myself out here and to be successful. Winning a TV award doesn’t christen me successful. It took me some time to learn that. I bought all my masters back last year in the prime of my career, that’s successful. ‘Blonde’ sold a million plus without a label, that’s successful. I am young, black, gifted and independent.. that’s my tribute.
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“....you know what’s really not ‘great TV’ guys? [Taylor Swift’s] “1989” getting album of the year over [Kendrick Lamar’s] “To Pimp A Butterfly”. Hands down one of the most ‘faulty’ TV moments I’ve seen. Believe the people. Believe the ones who’d rather watch select performances from your program on YouTube the day after because your show puts them to sleep.
“Use the old gramophone to actually listen bro, I’m one of the best alive. And if you’re up for a discussion about the cultural bias and general nerve damage the show you produce suffers from then I’m all for it. Have a good night.”
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