Frank Ocean has opened up on his decision to not submit his albums Endless and Blonde for Grammy nominations this year.
Ocean, who already has two Grammys and several other nominations to his name, described the decision as a protest against the lack of recognition given to black artists in awards contests, such as the aforementioned Grammys.
When discussing the decision in The New York Times, Ocean said: ‘That institution certainly has nostalgic importance.’ referring to the fact the majority of nominees are usually white. He continued to stay ‘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.’
Ocean further elaborated on his argument, noting only three black artists had won ‘Album of the Year’ in the past 30 years, adding, ‘I think the infrastructure of the awarding system and the nomination system and screening system is dated.’ He had already caused shock-waves by not submitting album by the 30th September deadline for the awards ceremony.
Several artists have come to the defence of Ocean’s actions. Most notably, Kanye West has come out in public support at a concert, saying, ‘I’ll tell you this right now, if his album is not nominated in no categories, I’m not showing up to the Grammys.’
The 2017 Grammys Award Ceremony will be held at The Staples Centre in Los Angeles on 12th February 2017. Nominations will be released on the 6th December 2016. Check out Ocean’s previous Grammy acceptance speech below:
