Frank Ocean says snubbing the 2017 Grammys is his 'Colin Kaepernick moment'

Frank Ocean isn't hiding. He's just enjoying the Sweet Life and, recently, the enigmatic artist offered the New York Times a window into that world.

Ocean, who followed up his critically acclaimed Channel Orange album with the visual streaming album Endless and the digital album Blonde earlier this year , opened up to the publication about taking a step away from the public eye after his initial success.

"It started to weigh on me that I was responsible for the moves that had made me successful, but I wasn’t reaping the lion’s share of the profits, and that was problematic for me," Ocean said. "I had, in the midst of all of this, this feeling of isolation. Within my circle, there was a lot of places I thought I could turn that I felt like I couldn’t turn to anymore."

The artist, who has only fueled the public's fervor by eschewing the spotlight, then explained his highly-scrutinized decision not to submit the new releases for consideration for the 2017 Grammys, an awards show that has long been criticized for snubbing artists of color. "I think the infrastructure of the awarding system and the nomination system and screening system is dated," Ocean said. "I’d rather this be my Colin Kaepernick moment for the Grammys than sit there in the audience."

Ocean doesn't need the validation anyway. "I believe that I’m one of the best in the world at what I do, and that’s all I’ve ever wanted to be," he said. "It’s more interesting for me to figure out how to be superior in areas where I’m naïve, where I’m a novice."

It's that outlook that spurred Ocean to look into visual arts degree offerings at the New School in New York City. When he told his mother, she said, "Oh, you don't have time to do that."

His response? "Mom, I’m rich!"

"I wasn’t trying to flex up on my mom," Ocean told NYT. "(It was) a personal service announcement to me, to just be like 'Wait, look at your position, you have the luxury of choice.'"

"This has always been my life and no one else's," he continued, "and that’s how it's always been since the day I came in it."