That Frank Ocean, he’s crafty. Reportedly the Odd Future singer fulfilled his recording contract with Def Jam with the release of his Endless video album—thus making Blonde an independent release.
With that said, Blonde will be probably be no. 1 on the Billboard charts this week, sans a Def Jam logo.
According to Forbes, Blonde, which is an Apple Music exclusive, is independently released via Ocean’s Boys Don’t Cry label. Taking a look at the credits on iTunes confirms this.
Universal Music Group, which owns Def Jam, has already reacted. Yesterday (Aug. 22), its CEO Lucian Grainge announced it would no longer be providing exclusive releases to streaming services like Apple Music and TIDAL.
Considering the album is one of the year’s most anticipated projects, the “Nikes” singer hit the jackpot. So far it’s been radio silence regarding official commentary from Ocean, Def Jam or the Apple camps about Blonde’s indie status.
What’s certain, Frank Ocean’s lawyer is a finesse legend and Def Jam is certainly none too happy.
Frank Ocean devotees may recall that he was signed to Def Jam over a year before his breakthrough mixtape, nostalgia ULTRA, was released. Tricky Stewart signed the singer/songwriter to the label, but that was about it.
“I never had an opportunity to build with them, because of some other sh*t within the company,” Ocean told Complex back in 2011. “All I knew was that I was an artist, and I didn’t have a relationship with my label.”
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Photo: Boys Don’t Cry
