Earlier this month, Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne spoke openly about his feelings towards Chicago producer Kanye West and revealed why he refused to allow the beatmaker to sample his 1971 track ‘Iron Man’.
Following the release of Vultures 1, Osbourne has revealed that he still stands by his actions of rejecting Kanye West and that he believes it is “wrong if you don’t say anything about him.”
Osbourne and his wife Sharon attacked West following the news that he was planning on sampling his 1983 performance of ‘Iron Man’ for the track ‘Carnival’ on his new album and was infuriated after hearing it integrated into the song when it was played ” during a listening party.
Although the sample wasn’t included on the final track, before its release, Osbourne admitted that Kanye had approached his team asking for clearance, stating, “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.”
He continued, “He is an antisemite and has caused untold heartache to many. He went ahead and used the sample anyway at his album listening party last night. I want no association with this man!”
Akin to Donna Summer’s estate, Osbourne was concerned about allowing such a divisive and political figure to use his music and told the magazine Rolling Stone, “With the current state of affairs, you don’t need anybody starting people on discrimination of any kind. It’s wrong. It’s just wrong.”
Osbourne concluded,, “There’s enough fucking 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.”
Before the release of Vultures 1, the rock act threatened West with legal action. Luckily it hasn’t had to be followed through.