Frank Ocean Sued By Producer Over "Blonde" Royalties In Ongoing Legal Battle: Report

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Frank Ocean speaks onstage at Spotify's Inaugural Secret Genius Awards hosted by Lizzo at Vibiana on November 1, 2017 in Los Angeles, California.
Frank Ocean's legal war has yet to come to an end.

Frank Ocean's been dealing with an ongoing legal battle over Blonde for a minute. Earlier in the year, it was reported that Frank Ocean was suing producer, Om'Mas Keith, over the song credits on his critically acclaimed album. Ocean's lawsuit was based on the face that Keith was trying to make a case that he co-wrote a whole bunch of music on the album and registered it with ASCAP. However, a new report says that Keith is now countersuing Ocean in ongoing legal battle. 

Frank Ocean's been adamant that Keith didn't write any of lyrics, melody or music on any of his Blonde songs. However, Keith has denied all allegations and filed a countersuit against Frank Ocean, according to TheBlast. They say that he's still claiming that he produced a good chunk of Ocean's album. 

Keith says he made a deal with Frank Ocean for a flat fee or his work on Channel Orange. However, he also says they didn't end up working a deal for Blonde but he made it clear that he wouldn't be willing to work on the terms of their previous agreement. He also says Ocean never got permission to drop any of the music they worked on. He claims Frank Ocean's actions has caused and will continue to cause major and irreparable harm. In addition, he says he hasn't seen any royalties for his alleged efforts on the album.

He's now asking for Frank Ocean's lawsuit to be tossed out. He also wants unspecified damages for Ocean not compensating him for his alleged work on the album. He also wants a court order that assures he'll get proper credit as a co-author on the tracks and accounting for all the profits Ocean received off of the album.

We'll keep you updated on the case. 


About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.
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