Update: Frank Ocean and Travis Scott respond to reports of 'Astroworld' disputes
BY KC Orcutt / 9.14.2018
Update—September 17, 2018
Following reports that Frank Ocean was pursuing possible legal action against Travis Scott, both parties took to social media to downplay the reported cease and desist filing. Per Ocean’s Tumblr page, he and the Astroworld rapper resolved the issue amongst themselves weeks ago. Additionally, Scott took to Instagram to post a photo of merch supporting his collaborator, writing, “Someone I call family and always will. Has taught me a ton. And a true inspiration in an out of the Stu.”
Original story below.
Frank Ocean has reportedly decided to take legal action regarding what could be a misunderstanding between himself and collaborator Travis Scott.
According to reports, the Long Beach native has taken issue with an alleged alteration made to his recent contribution to Scott’s recent album, Astroworld. The second song on the project, “Carousel,” features a chorus and verse from Ocean, who reportedly is claiming that changes were made to the song that he didn’t get wind of or approve prior to the LP’s August 3 release.
As reported, the issue has now become a legal one, with Ocean issuing a cease and desist notice to have his contributions removed from the song entirely. Several outlets, such as HotNewHipHop, are reporting that the 30-year-old musician and songwriter took issue with the pitch of his Auto-Tune rendering, something that Scott altered in the third verse (where the pair’s voices come together interchangeably).
Per TMZ, Scott, upon learning of the situation, is not interested in making any changes, let alone removing the track from Astroworld.
The project marks the 26-year-old artist’s third studio album, debuting at the No. 1 slot on the Billboard 200 and moving 537,000 album equivalent units its first week. Due to its incredible commercial performance, the album earned the second-largest first week of the year, right behind Drake’s Scorpion.
Hopefully Frank Ocean and Travis Scott can find a way to amicably resolve the situation and do so without making “Carousel” a casualty in the process. Revisit the album cut in question below.