Acclaimed singer's album "Blonde" will not be submitted for award consideration.

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Seattle Times staff reporter

Frank Ocean, whose long-awaited album “Blonde” was released to critical acclaim this year, will not be at the Grammys next year.

In a rare recent interview, the 29-year-old musician, songwriter and performer, who was born in California and raised in New Orleans, told The New York Times that he decided not to submit his work for consideration because of the Grammys’ historical disregard for the work of black artists.

Although Ocean won two of the coveted music awards in 2013, “it just doesn’t seem to be representing very well for people who come from where I come from, and hold down what I hold down,” he told The New York Times.

Noting what he called an outdated system for choosing the award winners, he said,  “I’d rather this be my Colin Kaepernick moment for the Grammys than sit there in the audience.”

Kaepernick, a quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, made headlines earlier this year by refusing to stand during the National Anthem to protest the “oppression of black people and people of color.”
His highly publicized deed has led other prominent athletes to take similar actions, including the Seahawks who stood arm-in-arm together during the anthem at a September game.
The Grammy Award nominations will be announced Dec. 6, and the 59th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony will air Feb. 12 on CBS.

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Christine Clarridge: 206-464-8983 or cclarridge@seattletimes.com; on Twitter: @c_clarridge.