Arts & Entertainment
Kanye West threatens to skip Grammys if Frank Ocean isn’t nominated
rapper says Academy made exception for Lady Gaga
Frank Ocean’s sophomore album ‘Blonde.‘ (Photo courtesy Boys Don’t Cry)
Kanye West wants Frank Ocean to receive the same Grammys treatment as Lady Gaga.
According to Billboard, Ocean’s album “Blonde” and his visual album “Endless” were not submitted for consideration by Ocean’s management by the 2017 Grammy eligibility deadline.
During the Oakland stop of his Saint Pablo tour, West says the Academy should find a way to include Ocean like it did for Lady Gaga in 2010.
“[Gaga] wasn’t nominated for Best New Artist, right? But they wanted her to perform at the show; they wanted her to open. So the Grammys secretly changed something about the nominations in order to nominate her, in order for her to perform in the show,” West told the crowd.
Lady Gaga’s “The Fame Monster,” a reissue of her 2008 debut album “The Fame,” was nominated for five Grammys in 2010 and she performed with Elton John at the awards ceremony.
However, she was excluded from a Best New Artist nomination because her single “Just Dance” had been released in 2008.
Artists whose work have been previously nominated had been ineligible to be nominated for Best New Artist.
The Academy changed the rules in 2010 because of Lady Gaga’s ineligibility for the category despite her rising popularity.
West believes Ocean’s albums, which have received critical acclaim, should receive similar treatment.
“Now, Frank Ocean, on the other hand, is very vocal that his album wasn’t nominated for the Grammys, right? Since he’s vocal, no one wants to say nothing about it. No one wants to do nothing about it. And I’m saying this to y’all, because a lot of people try to make a scene, like, ‘I’m so self-centered.’ But the album I listened to the most this year is Frank Ocean’s album. And I’ll tell you this right now: If his album’s not nominated in no categories, I’m not showing up to the Grammys,” West continued.
The 2017 Grammy nominees list will be released on Dec. 8.
Celebrity News
Madonna announces release date for new album
‘Confessions II’ marks return to the dance floor
Pop icon Madonna on Wednesday announced that her 15th studio album will be released on July 3.
Titled “Confessions II,” the new album is a sequel to 2005’s “Confessions on a Dance Floor,” an Abba and disco-infused hit.
The new album reunites Madonna with producer Stuart Price, who also helmed the original “Confessions” album. It’s her first album of new material since 2019’s “Madame X.”
“We must dance, celebrate, and pray with our bodies,” Madonna said in a press release. “These are things that we’ve been doing for thousands of years — they really are spiritual practices. After all, the dance floor is a ritualistic space. It’s a place where you connect — with your wounds, with your fragility. To rave is an art. It’s about pushing your limits and connecting to a community of like-minded people,” continued the statement. “Sound, light, and vibration reshape our perceptions. Pulling us into a trance-like state. The repetition of the bass, we don’t just hear it but we feel it. Altering our consciousness and dissolving ego and time.”
Denali (@denalifoxx) of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” performed at Pitchers DC on April 9 for the Thirst Trap Thursday drag show. Other performers included Cake Pop!, Brooke N Hymen, Stacy Monique-Max and Silver Ware Sidora.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Arts & Entertainment
In an act of artistic defiance, Baltimore Center Stage stays focused on DEI
‘Maybe it’s a triple-down’
By LESLIE GRAY STREETER | I’m always tickled when people complain about artists “going political.” The inherent nature of art, of creation and free expression, is political. This becomes obvious when entire governments try to threaten it out of existence, like in 2025, when the brand-new presidential administration demanded organizations halt so-called diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programming or risk federal funding.
Baltimore Center Stage’s response? A resounding and hearty “Nah.” A year later, they’re still doubling down on diversity.
“Maybe it’s a triple-down,” said Ken-Matt Martin, the theater’s producing director, chuckling.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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Comings & Goings
Minimal version of ‘Streetcar Named Desire’ heading to Dupont Underground
