Ozzy Osbourne refuses request from Kanye West to use Black Sabbath Iron Man sample: "I want no association with this man!"

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By ( Metal Hammer ) published

Ozzy comes out all guns blazing in denying Ye permission to use live Iron Man sample – and Sharon wades in too

Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne pictured at the Grammy Awards in 2020
(Image credit: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)

Ozzy Osbourne has issued a strong statement explaining why he refused Kanye West's request to use a sample from a live performance of Black Sabbath classic Iron Man.

West, who now performs under the name Ye, wanted to use a clip from Ozzy's solo performance of Iron Man at the US Festival in 1983. The rapper planned to use the audio on a track on the ¥$ album, Vultures.

¥$ is a duo made up of Ye and Ty Dolla Sign and their debut album was released today, February 10.

It has been reported the duo intended to use the sample on a track called Carnival and that it was played at a listening party in Chicago on Friday – with the sample included.

But when the album was released hours later, Carnival appeared without the Iron Man sample.

In a statement released on Facebook, Ozzy says: "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 went ahead and used the sample anyway at his album listening party last night, I want no association with this man!"

West caused outrage in 2022 by saying he was preparing to go "death con 3" on Jewish people. It led many in the music world to speak out, including Kiss star Paul Stanley.

Ozzy's wife and manager Sharon Osbourne told Billboard she has been in touch with West's team about him apparently using the sample without permission.

She says: "We get so many requests for these songs and when we saw that request, we just said no way. We’ve been in touch with his team. And it’s also an issue of having respect for another artist.

"But the simple thing is, we don’t want to be associated with a hater. To spread hate the way he does, it shouldn’t be allowed. All the excuses – he’s bipolar or whatever – doesn’t change that. It’s like, fuck you, basically."

Stef Lach

Stef wrote close to 5,000 stories during his time as assistant online news editor and later as online news editor between 2014-2016. An accomplished reporter and journalist, Stef has written extensively for a number of UK newspapers and also played bass with UK rock favourites Logan. His favourite bands are Pixies and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Stef left the world of rock'n'roll news behind when he moved to his beloved Canada in 2016, but he started on his next 5000 stories in 2022.