Kanye West has sparked new controversy by taking aim at Frank Ocean, claiming he effectively ended the R&B artist’s career with the release of his 2021 track “Moon” from the Donda album.
In a recent interview with Akademiks, Ye made bold statements about Ocean’s musical output, saying:
“No one makes music that’s nowhere as near as good as me. When I made ‘Moon,’ it basically ended Frank Ocean’s career. He ain’t have a song since then.”
Ye went on to mock a snippet of new music from Ocean, reportedly featured in a vlog by his rumored boyfriend, UFC fighter Payton Talbott.
“He was like, ‘Sipping some wine.’ I heard it and was like, ‘Oh, he’s never gonna be able to make another album again.’”
Kanye and Frank Ocean share a long creative history. Ocean appeared on Watch the Throne tracks “No Church in the Wild” and “Made in America,” and featured on “New Slaves” and “Frank’s Track.” Their last official collaboration was in 2016.
Despite their past work and Ye’s vocal support for Ocean in previous years — including praising him for coming out and threatening to boycott the Grammys if Blonde wasn’t nominated — Ye now appears to have turned on the elusive singer.
Back in 2015, Kanye spoke highly of Ocean’s cultural impact:
“People love his music so much. The people who break the stereotypes make history.”
And in 2016, during a concert, Ye declared:
“The album I listen to the most this year is Frank Ocean’s. If his album’s not nominated in no categories, I’m not showin’ up to the Grammys.”
As of now, Frank Ocean has not responded to Kanye’s recent remarks.
