Frank Ocean's Def Jam Relationship Was a 'Bad Marriage'

Frank Ocean is no longer signed to Def Jam, but new details seem to show that the relationship was strained before it ended.

According to a new report by The Associated Press, Def Jam allowed Ocean to leave the label early because their relationship was comparable to a “bad marriage.”

An anonymous insider said “it wasn’t going to work out” between the two parties because Ocean “didn’t want to be on a label. He wanted to do his own thing.”

During the making of his follow-up to 2012’s channel ORANGE on Def Jam, both parties reportedly decided the next LP would be his last on the label. That’s what Endless — the visual album — ended up being.

Ocean independently released Blonde a day after Endless, shocking fans and his former label Def Jam too, according to the story.

Blonde has been hailed as Ocean’s “real” album with critical and commercial accolades, while Endless has been deemed a visual album with less praise. Blonde also went on to become Ocean’s first No. 1 on the Billboard 200.