Brian Wilson Cut Frank Ocean From His Album

 

Frank Ocean doesn’t like the hog the spotlight. In fact, when he doesn’t have an album to promote, the Odd Future crooner tends to cede the magazine covers, quick TV spots and radio interviews to the artists who do. As it turns out, one of those spaces Ocean won’t be occupying is the liner notes of the next Brian Wilson record. In an interview with Vulture, the Beach Boys frontman revealed that his forthcoming 11th solo album, No Pier Pressure, was originally supposed to sport a song with Frank Ocean. However, to hear Wilson put it bluntly, “Well, Frank Ocean didn’t want to do the song. Wilson added a qualifier: “He wanted to do rap, so we canceled him.”

Though Wilson may not be enamored with the “Pyramids” singer, countless thousands of fans have he rose to prominence with Nostalgia, Ultra. It was between that release and his debut album, Channel Orange, that Ocean made headlines for opening up about his sexuality. “Forrest Gump,” a song from that record, detailed one of the singer’s past, most deeply felt relationships, and the pronouns in the song made it clear that it was dedicated to another man. His note, originally released on Tumblr, was received warmly by many in hip-hop, perhaps surprisingly. Ocean’s Odd Future cohorts, including Tyler, The Creator were adamant in their support.