Ozzy Osbourne Explains Why He Publicly Condemned Kanye West
Ozzy Osbourne reiterated his disdain for Kanye West in an interview with Rolling Stone. The rock legend discussed why it was important to distance himself from Ye after the controversial rapper/producer sampled Black Sabbath’s song “Iron Man” without permission.
“With the current state of affairs, you don’t need anybody starting people on discrimination of any kind,” Osbourne said. “It’s wrong. It’s just wrong.”
He added, “There’s enough f###### aggravation, and he shouldn’t say anything [like what he has]. It’s wrong if you don’t say anything about him. I don’t want any of my work in any shape or form to be associated with anything like that.”
Earlier this month, Ye and Ty Dolla $ign sampled “Iron Man” for their song “Carnival.” Osbourne was outraged to learn about the uncleared sample when Ye and Ty Dolla $ign played the track at a pre-release listening event for their Vultures 1 album. The Black Sabbath frontman called out Ye on social media.
“KANYE WEST ASKED PERMISSION TO SAMPLE A SECTION OF A 1983 LIVE PERFORMANCE OF ‘IRON MAN’ FROM THE US FESTIVAL WITHOUT VOCALS & WAS REFUSED PERMISSION BECAUSE HE IS AN ANTISEMITE AND HAS CAUSED UNTOLD HEARTACHE TO MANY,” Osbourne wrote. “HE WENT AHEAD AND USED THE SAMPLE ANYWAY AT HIS ALBUM LISTENING PARTY LAST NIGHT. I WANT NO ASSOCIATION WITH THIS MAN!”
Osbourne’s wife and manager Sharon also issued a statement.
“We are considering legal action,” she said. “Ozzy has not spoken to Kanye but our team have spoken with theirs.”
Ye responded by removing the sample. He replaced it with his song “Hell of a Life,” which included a legally cleared sample of Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man.”
Vultures 1 dropped on February 10. The album was originally scheduled to be released on February 9. It peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.