Earlier today, rumors flew that Frank Ocean had filed a cease and desist to have his vocals removed from Travis Scott’s Astroworld track “Carousel,†allegedly because the final version had Autotuned and otherwise manipulated his voice. Now, in a new Tumblr post, Ocean clarifies that their reported beef was both over “weeks ago†and had nothing to do with the track itself.
“I think the song sounds cool,†Ocean wrote Friday. “I did it in like 20 minutes and the mix sounds the way Travis wanted it to sound for his record.†As you might have guessed by now, Ocean wasn’t blindsided by the final collaboration at all. “I also approved it before it came out so the cease and desist wasn’t about 🔊 It was about ðŸ³ï¸â€ðŸŒˆ.â€
The Blonde singer didn’t clarify what he was alluding to with his rainbow pride flag, but Travis Scott did come under fire last month for the removal of trans model Amanda Lepore from the final Astroworld cover, a move Scott attributed to Lepore’s “upstaging†of his other visuals. “I have nothing but respect for the LGBTQ community,†Scott said at the time. Whatever the issue was, it seems the two were able to work things out. Concludes Ocean, “Me and Travis resolved it amongst ourselves weeks ago.â€
Update: Travis Scott shared a similar water-under-the-bridge sentiment, along with an Instagram pic of some Frank Ocean merch. “Someone I call family and always will,†he wrote. “Has taught me a ton. And a true inspiration in an out of the Stu Gang.â€