When did Frank Ocean last release music? Kanye West says his song Moon ended the singer's career
The music industry is buzzing with online debate after Kanye West recently claimed that one of his songs marked the end of Frank Ocean's music career.
On March 30, 2025, during a conversation with Jamaican-American podcaster DJ Akademiks, Kanye West, an American rapper and record producer, while reflecting on his music career, affirmed that when he released his 2021 hit song, Moon, in due course, he ended the music career of R&B singer, Frank Ocean.
As a result, attention has shifted to Frank Ocean's whereabouts. The California-based artist last released music in 2020; since then, anticipation for his rumored album FO3 has continued to grow. However, no official confirmation regarding the project has been provided.
Frank Ocean's last music release, Kanye West weighs in on his career pause:
The 37-year-old American singer-songwriter Frank Ocean dropped his two latest releases in the late 2010s — Dear April was released on October 19, 2019, from his album Dear April (Side A - Acoustic), and Cayendo released on April 3, 2020, from his album Cayendo 7".
Frank Ocean released his second studio album, Blonde, on August 20, 2016. The album had 17 tracks with numerous hits like Nikes, Ivy, Pink + White, Be Yourself, and Solo. Ocean has served as an acclaimed singer and has won 11 awards, including the 2013 Grammy for Best Urban Contemporary Album.
He also won the 2013 Grammy for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for a song, No Church in the Wild, for which he was a featured artist, and the 2013 GLAAD Media Awards for Outstanding Music Artist for his album Channel Orange, released on July 10, 2012, under the Def Jam Recordings label.
There is no definitive confirmation why Frank Ocean has stopped releasing music. However, according to Nicki Swift's reports, the California-based artist launched his luxury jewelry and accessories brand, Homer, in 2021.
Inspired by his mother, the venture has since become his primary focus. Speaking with Financial Times in 2021, Ocean reflected on his brand —
"My mother was into jewelry, but in a low-key Princess Diana kind of way. My godfather was into guns, but he was also into cars, and he bought luxury lifestyle magazines," Ocean said.
Furthermore, the same year, Frank Ocean took to his Instagram account and shared a story suggesting that now all of his work is dedicated to his family, seemingly hinting that there would be no further music —
"All of my work now is dedicated to my family. Everything, My hope is to make things that last, that are hard to destroy, set it in stone," Ocean wrote.
To date, it is not known what the exact reason for the singer's pivot from his music career is.
However, on Sunday, March 30, 2025, the American record producer Kanye West claimed during a conversation with DJ Akademiks that Ocean's career ended seemingly because of him. Kanye West stated that he makes better music —
"I make music better, I push it, n*gga don't know no one make music that's nowhere as near as good as music like when I made Moon, it basically ended Frank Ocean's career because he ain't have a song since then," Kanye West said.
Furthermore, Kanye West suggested that upon learning of Frank Ocean's whereabouts following the release of Moon, he immediately realized that Ocean would no longer be able to continue making music —
"He is sipping some wine like I knew I heard, 'Oh this n*gga is never gonna be able to make another album again.' 'I want to go to the Moon.' Any genre of music that anyone has I make a better version of it, I am ten times stronger at music than anyone living," Kanye West added.
Although Kanye West did not specify the basis for his claims, Frank Ocean has yet to respond.
