Kanye West is threatening to boycott the Grammys if Frank Ocean isn't nominated
The rapper announced at a show in Oakland, California, on Saturday night, that he'll boycott the Grammy Awards if they fail to nominate R&B singer Frank Ocean and his 2016 album "Blonde" at next year's awards.
"The album I listened to the most this year is Frank Ocean's album," West said in video captured by a fan. "I'll tell you this right now: if his album's not nominated in no categories, I'm not showing up to the Grammys. As artists, we gotta come together to fight the bulls--t they been throwing us with."
The problem here is that Frank Ocean is almost definitely not going to be nominated, and that's at least partly on Ocean. Billboard reports that Ocean's team did not submit either "Blonde" (a digital-only release through Apple Music) or his "visual album" "Endless" for Grammy consideration, despite being reportedly aware of the deadlines.
Though the Grammy eligibility of "Endless" is unclear, "Blonde" presumably would have had a good shot, especially given that it hit No. 1 on the Billboard album chart, and the Grammys have altered rules to allow streaming-only releases.
West pointed to Lady Gaga as an example of why Ocean should be nominated during his Saturday comments, E! reports.
"So, I don't know if any of y'all remember: I was supposed to go on a tour with Gaga, like about six, seven years ago-a while back," West said. "I remember, that it was something... She wasn't nominated for best new artist, right? But they wanted her to perform at the show; they wanted her to open, right? So, the Grammys secretly changed something about the nominations in order to nominate her - in order for her to perform in the show."
Indeed, Gaga's ineligibility for the best new artist category in 2010 did spur the Grammys to change the rules, but she was still excluded from that category in 2010 (though she won in others), and the change in rules was not done secretly.
Nominees for the 2017 Grammys will be announced on December 6.
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