Ozzy Osbourne may have been a rock legend, but his legacy impacted artists of all genres, including Hip-Hop.
After the news about Osbourne's death broke on Tuesday, July 22, tributes for the "No More Tears" singer poured in. T-Pain was one of the first rap artists to pay homage to the Prince of Darkness. Pain posted a video of him covering the Black Sabbath frontman's "War Pigs" last year. Osbourne himself called his performance "the best cover of 'War Pigs' ever."
"Heartbroken by the news," Pain wrote. "I was blessed to be able to cover War Pigs and get your recognition. Ozzy Forever 🤘🏿"
Ozzy Osbourne passed away at 76 following his battle with Parkinson's disease. The Grammy Award-winning artist was diagnosed with the neurodegenerative disease in 2019 and eventually lost his ability to walk. That didn't stop him from hitting the stage one last time. Osbourne died just 17 days after his final live performance with Black Sabbath at the "Back to the Beginning" farewell concert in England. Ice-T, a veteran within the rap and rock genres, acknowledged Osbourne's last show in his tribute.
"RIP Ozzy," he wrote. "Right after the recent huge Black Sabbath final concert. Sad.. In my opinion the Creators of Heavy Metal 🤘🏽🙏"
Ozzy Osbourne's music inspired generations of artists in the music industry, including rappers like Busta Rhymes, who worked with Ozzy on "This Means War!!" in 1998, and Trick Daddy. The Miami rapper sampled Osbourne's revered solo single "Crazy Train" for his collaboration with Lil' Jon and Twista, "Let's Go," in 2004. Despite the song's commercial success, Ozzy claimed he never heard the song until 2021. See his reaction to the song below, along with other tributes to the late rock star from Flavor Flav, Adam Sandler and more.
Rest in peace, Ozzy Osbourne.
WARNING: EXPLICIT LANGUAGE