Frank Ocean Sues Blonde Producer
Frank Ocean is suing a producer he formerly worked with who is now reportedly trying to take credit for some of the music on 2016’s Blonde. TMZ reports that Ocean hired Om’Mas Keith in 2014 to work on Blonde master tracks, and now Keith is trying to get a songwriting credit on the album.
Documents obtained by TMZ state that Keith registered with ASCAP, claiming to have co-written 11 songs on Blonde. “Pink + White,” “Be Yourself,” “Futura Free,” “Godspeed,” “Skyline To,” “Solo,” “White Ferrari,” “Pretty Sweet,” and “Ivy” are among those he listed. Ocean says he paid Keith a flat rate to work on masters and that he did not write any of the music, melody, or lyrics to the songs. A successful suit would result in the judge blocking Keith from obtaining songwriting credits. Ocean is not seeking monetary compensation.
Keith is credited as a producer on Blonde and Endless and he had a hand in Ocean’s lauded 2012 release Channel Orange.
UPDATE: Ocean’s reps responded to Pitchfork’s request for comment: “A complaint has been filed against Om’Mas Keith who has falsely stated to have written certain songs which appear on the album Blonde. These claims are untrue and this issue is being dealt with by litigators.”