Frank Ocean and Tyler, The Creator unfollow and rumors swirl of legal threats, vinyl snubs and the final death of Odd Future.
Damn, this is the oddest future ever.
Frank Ocean and Tyler, The Creator are two of the most brilliant, enigmatic minds in modern rap. And they have unfollowed each other on social media. That may seem trivial, but it’s not. We are definitely in an era where everyone is clout-tapping and algorithm-chasing (or is that reversed?). But this isn’t that. This is personal. And it didn’t stop there. Hell, Tyler even unfollowed Frank’s fashion brand, Homer. TF. That move alone had longtime fans clutching their pearls.
So what’s really going on?
Let’s walk this down carefully. The unfollowing came with no real drama. No bars aimed at each other. Frank Ocean recently released the Channel Orange vinyl and something happened. Two tracks were noticeably missing. “White,” produced by Tyler, and “Golden Girl,” which features him were both gone. Why? Some say licensing. Maybe. Pettiness? Hmmmmmm….
Tyler, The Creator recently told fans that a “longtime friend” threatened to sue him over a feature he wanted to drop. Tyler never said who, but the streets are saying it was Frank. This isn’t far-fetched either. Frank reportedly threatened Travis Scott during the Astroworld album rollout. It could be nothing or it could be everything.
Then, Tyler dropped Call Me If You Get Lost: The Estate Sale with surprise features by Kanye West, Vince Staples, A$AP Rocky but not Frank Ocean. Now his new record, Don’t Tap the Glass, continues the trend. Frank is M.I.A. despite being such a pivotal part of Tyler’s history.
This feels like the final nail in the Odd Future casket, at least for these two.
Odd Future has been more of a concept for a while now. In 2015, Tyler said, “I don’t think OF is coming back.” Still, he has never said there was an official breakup. Maybe that was a respect thing. Maybe he didn’t want to cross what they represented. They were a rebellion in creativity.
Sources close to the situation say a cease-and-desist from Frank Ocean over the use of his old vocals might’ve been the straw that broke the camel’s back. Seriously, legal threats between friends is a big issue.
The optimist in me wants to believe they’ll make nice again. But I knows how ego, age and artistic ambition can become a cancer. They aren’t teenagers anymore. They’re grown, running empires and making space for their own big brands.
Hopefully, Earl Sweatshirt’s lurking somewhere with a project. Until then, I’ll be listening to that new Clipse album and wondering what could have been.