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Ozzy Osbourne Has No Regrets Going After Kanye West

Ozzy Osbourne talked about his recent clash with Kanye West in a new interview with Rolling Stone. Earlier this month, West and fellow rapper Ty Dolla $ign released the album Vultures 1….

Ozzy Osbourne performing on stage; Kanye West posing for a photo.
Kevork Djansezian, Jason Davis/Getty Images

Ozzy Osbourne talked about his recent clash with Kanye West in a new interview with Rolling Stone.

Earlier this month, West and fellow rapper Ty Dolla $ign released the album Vultures 1. On the album is the track "Carnival," which featured a sample of a live Osbourne recording. The live recording was of the Black Sabbath classic "Iron Man" from Osbourne's performance at the 1983 US Festival.

However, Osbourne did not give permission to West to use the sample. The Prince of Darkness took to social media and slammed the unauthorized use of the recording and West, himself. Ozzy wrote, "Kanye West asked permission to sample a section of a 1983 live performance of 'Iron Man' from the US Festival without vocals and was refused permission because he is an antisemite and has caused untold heartache to many."

He continued, "He went ahead and used the sample anyway at his album listening party last night. I want no association with this man!"

Following Ozzy's statement, Sharon Osbourne issued a statement via TMZ. Ozzy's wife/manager told the tabloid outlet, "Kanye f---ed with the wrong Jew this time." (Sharon was raised Jewish, and her father, former Black Sabbath manager Don Arden, was born into a Jewish family.)

After the uproar, West removed the sample. Osbourne told Rolling Stone about attacking West for his antisemitic comments, "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."

West has a significant history of making antisemitic remarks. (Rolling Stone has a breakdown of the many instances of the rapper's antisemitism and use of hate speech.) One of the most recent examples of West's antisemitism came when the title track of Vultures 1 was released in November 2023. It was immediately met with controversy due to antisemitic lyrics from Ye on the track. This led the rapper to issue an apology to the Jewish community in Hebrew.

After you get thrown out of one of the most influential bands of all time, what do you do for an encore? Ozzy Osbourne was a misfit, an unusual vocalist, he didn’t play instruments or write songs in the conventional sense… so his former Black Sabbath bandmates probably didn’t see him as someone who would rival them for popularity. Surprise, surprise: Ozzy Osbourne’s long second act has been one of the most surprising and tumultuous in the history of rock and roll.

Sure, the bottom-feeding celebrity news machine loves him as a headline-generating lunatic, but the reason why we still care after all these years is the amazing discography Ozzy has amassed over the decades. Here are our 40 favorite Ozzy jams from 1980 on. As Ozzy prepares to wrap up an incredible career, we listened to everything, from the classic ‘Blizzard Of Ozz’ (every song made the list, except for Randy Rhoads’ solo guitar piece “Dee”) to the advance tracks released from ‘Ordinary Man.’ 

40. “Let It Die” from ‘Scream’ (2010)

ozzy_scream_Epic_Sony.jpgEpic/Sony

39. “Black Rain” from ‘Black Rain’ (2007)

ozzy_black-rain_Epic.jpgEpic

38. Dweezil Zappa w/ Ozzy - “Stayin’ Alive” from ‘Confessions’ (1991)

zappa_Barking-Pumpkin-Records.jpgBarking Pumpkin Records

37. “Working Class Hero” from ‘Under Cover’ (2005)

under-cover_Epic.jpgEpic

36. “Road To Nowhere” from ‘No More Tears’ (1991)

no-more-tears_Epric.jpgEpic

35. “The Ultimate Sin” from ‘The Ultimate Sin’ (1986)

ozzy_ultimate-sin_Epic_-CBS.jpgEpic/CBS

34. “Shot In The Dark” from ‘The Ultimate Sin’ (1986)

ozzy_ultimate-sin_Epic_-CBS-1.jpgEpic/CBS

33. Lita Ford w/ Ozzy - “Close My Eyes Forever” from ‘Lita’ (1988)

lita_Sony.jpgSony

32. Kelly Osbourne w/ Ozzy - “Changes” from Changes’ (2003)

kelly_Epic.jpgEpic

31. “Dreamer” from ‘Down To Earth’ (2001)

ozzy_down-to-earth_Epic.jpgEpic

30. Primus w/ Ozzy - “N.I.B.” from ‘Nativity In Black 2’ (2000)

Nativity_Priority-Records.jpgPriority Records

29. “Mississippi Queen” from ‘Under Cover’ (2005)

under-cover_Epic-1.jpgEpic

28. “Let Me Hear You Scream” from ‘Scream’ (2010)

ozzy_scream_Epic_Sony-1.jpgEpic/Sony

27. “Under The Graveyard” from ‘Ordinary Man’ (2020)

ordinary-man_epic-sony.jpgEpic/Sony

26. “Little Dolls” from ‘Diary Of A Madman’ (1981)

ozzy_diary-of-a-mad-man_Jet.jpgJet

25. “Walk On Water” from ‘Beavis And Butthead Do America’ (1996)

beavis_Geffen.jpgGeffen

24. “21st Century Schizoid Man” from ‘Under Cover’ (2005)

under-cover_Epic-2.jpgEpic

23. “Ordinary Man (with Elton John)” from ‘Ordinary Man’ (2020)

ordinary-man_epic-sony-1.jpgEpic/Sony

22. “Steal Away (The Night)” from ‘Blizzard of Ozz’ (1980)

ozzy_blizzard_Jet.jpgJet

21. Motorhead w/ Ozzy - “I Ain’t No Nice Guy” from ‘March Or Die’ (1992)

Motorhead_Legacy.jpgLegacy

20. “I Don’t Wanna Stop” from ‘Black Rain’ (2007)

ozzy_black-rain_Epic-1.jpgEpic

19. “I Just Want You” from ‘Ozzmosis’ (1995)

ozzmosis_Epic.jpgEpic

18. “No Bone Movies” from ‘Blizzard Of Ozz’ (1980)

ozzy_blizzard_Jet-1.jpgJet

17. “Mama, I’m Coming Home” from ‘No More Tears’ (1991)

no-more-tears_Epric-1.jpgEpic

16. “Tonight” from ‘Diary Of A Madman’ (1981)

ozzy_diary-of-a-mad-man_Jet-1.jpgJet

15. “Diary Of A Madman” from ‘Diary Of A Madman’ (1981)

ozzy_diary-of-a-mad-man_Jet-2.jpgJet

14. “S.A.T.O.” from ‘Diary Of A Madman’ (1981)

ozzy_diary-of-a-mad-man_Jet-3.jpgJet

13. “Believer” from ‘Diary of A Madman’ (1981)

ozzy_diary-of-a-mad-man_Jet-4.jpgJet

12. “You Can’t Kill Rock And Roll” from ‘Diary Of A Madman’ (1981)

ozzy_diary-of-a-mad-man_Jet-5.jpgJet

11. “Flying High Again” from ‘Diary Of A Madman’ (1981)

ozzy_diary-of-a-mad-man_Jet-6.jpgJet

10. “Suicide Solution” from ‘Blizzard Of Ozz’ (1980)

ozzy_blizzard_Jet-2.jpgJet

9. “Goodbye To Romance” from ‘Blizzard Of Ozz’ (1980)

ozzy_blizzard_Jet-3.jpgJet

8. “Gets Me Through” from ‘Down To Earth’ (2001)

ozzy_down-to-earth_Epic-1.jpgEpic

7. “Bark At The Moon” from ‘Bark At The Moon’ (1983)

bark-at-the-moon_CBS-EPic.jpgEpic/CBS

6. “Over The Mountain” from ‘Diary Of A Madman’ (1981)

ozzy_diary-of-a-mad-man_Jet-7.jpgJet

5. “No More Tears” from ‘No More Tears’ (1991)

no-more-tears_Epric-2.jpgEpic

4. “I Don’t Know” from ‘Blizzard Of Ozz’ (1980)

ozzy_blizzard_Jet-4.jpgJet

3. “Mr. Crowley” from ‘Blizzard Of Ozz’ (1980)

ozzy_blizzard_Jet-5.jpgJet

2. “Revelation (Mother Earth)” from ‘Blizzard Of Ozz’ (1980)

ozzy_blizzard_Jet-6.jpgJet

1. “Crazy Train” from ‘Blizzard Of Ozz’ (1980)

ozzy_blizzard_Jet-7.jpgJet
Erica Banas is a news blogger who's been covering the rock/classic rock world since 2014. The coolest event she's ever covered in person was the 2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. (Sir Paul McCartney inducting Foo Fighters? C'mon now!) She's also well-versed in etiquette and extraordinarily nice. #TransRightsAreHumanRights