RIP Ozzy Osbourne: The Prince of Darkness’ Haunting Influence On Hip-Hop

There’s always been a kind of shared ethos between hip-hop and metal—one rooted more in attitude than sound. It’s rebellion as an aesthetic, especially in the ’80s and ’90s, when counterculture still felt like counter culture, not just fodder for brand deals or algorithm-chasing disruption. Back then, things were rawer, more offensive, more daring. Shock value could still function as a tool—provoking uncomfortable truths—instead of existing solely for clip farming and social media outrage cycles.

Both genres became generational mouthpieces. By the late ’80s, they’d each drawn the ire of the PMRC, which led to the now-iconic Parental Advisory sticker slapped on albums by everyone from Slayer to Ice-T. But even before that, the crossover had already begun. Run-DMC’s “Rock Box” cracked the door open. The Beastie Boys blew it off the hinges. Anthrax’s “I’m the Man” arguably laid the groundwork for nu-metal. And by the early 2000s, Rage Against the Machine had fully weaponized the rebellious spirit of both genres—anti-establishment, angry, and unfiltered.

But it wasn’t just about guitars and 808s sharing space. Metal’s occultish, chaotic energy found its way into hip-hop’s DNA too. And no one embodied that spirit more than Ozzy Osbourne. The self-proclaimed Prince of Darkness—the original madman of pop culture—left behind an aesthetic legacy as much as a musical one. Even if Ozzy was never directly embedded in hip-hop, his fingerprints are everywhere.

On Tuesday, July 22nd, Ozzy Osbourne passed away at 76 years old, just after one final performance with the original members of Black Sabbath. It was a moment that crystallized his enduring influence, not only on his peers, but on the generations that followed. Songs like “Crazy Train” and “War Pigs” have been sampled, flipped, and reimagined countless times,transformed from apocalyptic doom into gritty survival anthems, whether they speak to life in the streets or the isolating pressures of fame. Producers have mined his catalog and turned it into something entirely new.

The truth is, Ozzy and Black Sabbath didn’t just get sampled, they helped shape the sonic foundation of some of hip-hop’s most daring moments. Their dark, heavy aesthetic echoes today in the gothic flair of the Playboi Carti and Opium generation, artists who’ve turned vintage rebellion into fashion-forward nostalgia. That reverence is still very real. Rising artist OsamaSon sampled “Crazy Train” on his track “Lil O.” Even Drake was recently spotted at the Black Sabbath Bench in Birmingham—Ozzy’s hometown—where he told The New York Times, “I just came out to pay respects to someone who lived it to the fullest."

All of this is to say: Ozzy Osbourne may be gone, but his spirit is alive and well in hip-hop. As a tribute to his influence, here are some of our favorite moments where Ozzy’s music was sampled, interpolated, or reimagined by some of the culture’s most creative voices.

Read More: Drake Pays Wholesome Tribute To Ozzy Osbourne By Walking Out To "Iron Man" In Birmingham

Sample: “Iron Man” by Black Sabbath

Kanye West’s “Hell Of A Life” fully reimagines the magic that Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, and Black Sabbath captured on “Iron Man.” The track interpolates the iconic chugging riff and melodic cadences, turning the 1970 classic—filled with Ozzy’s metallic dread—into a twisted fantasy about fame, sex, and disillusionment. At a time when Ye’s back was against the wall, “Hell Of A Life” stood out on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy as a song that truly captured his chaotic relationship with the media—one that painted him as villainous as Ozzy once was, entangled in desire and delusion. The repurposing of “Iron Man” helped Ye tap into Ozzy’s legacy of alienation and turned it into something paranoid, indulgent, and haunted by its own power.

It should be noted that Ye has sampled Black Sabbath in more recent years, including during the Vultures era. Ozzy initially denied Ye clearance to “War Pigs” following anti-Semitic remarks, though it appears the Chicago multi-hyphenate later received some form of permission to sample “Crazy Train” on “KING.”

Sample: “Crazy Train” by Ozzy Osbourne

Trick Daddy earned the biggest hit of his career thanks in part to the flagrant sample of Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train.” Produced by Jim Jonsin and Bigg D, the song is a pure adrenaline rush, flipping the heavy metal classic into a certified banger. Jonsin and D chop up the unforgettable guitar riff and fuse it with crunk’s explosive energy, transforming Ozzy’s rebellious anthem into a stadium-ready fight track. Ozzy’s original was about spiraling chaos, but here, that chaos is redirected into aggression, pride, and Southern bravado. The riff retains its manic edge, now dressed in gold grills and Miami sweat.

Although it’s not necessarily considered a hip-hop/metal crossover, it keeps the essence of the original while modernizing it for the era. After Ozzy’s death, Trick Daddy paid his respects in a statement to TMZ: “The iconic legend will be truly missed, especially by me—a young Black man out of the ghetto of Miami—by giving the clearance to sample his 'Crazy Train' masterpiece!"

Read More: Trick Daddy Shows Love To Ozzy Osbourne For Clearing Iconic "Crazy Train" Sample

Sample: “Wicked World” and “The Wizard” by Black Sabbath

In the intro above, I failed to mention how much of a critical role Cypress Hill played in the merger of metal and hip-hop during the ’90s. One could arguably say that their love for cannabis even helped bridge the gap between two distinctly different audiences. Hip-hop heads loved them as much as metalheads, and their ability to weave two Black Sabbath songs into one of their most iconic hits resonated deeply with both sides.

Producer T-Ray transforms the guitar feedback and warped harmonica from Sabbath’s “Wicked World” and “The Wizard” into a dense fog of paranoia and power. Cypress Hill’s “Ain’t Goin’ Out Like That” rides the edge between stoner haze and street tension, with Sabbath’s dark atmosphere forming a subtle foundation. These elements create a hypnotic, swirling menace that perfectly complements B-Real’s nasal fury and Sen Dog’s bark.

Read More: Kanye West & Bianca Censori: Ozzy & Sharon Osbourne Turn Infamous Couple Into Halloween Costume

Sample: “Behind the Wall of Sleep” by Black Sabbath

Appearing on Tribe’s final album, We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service, “We The People” dropped at a crucial time in politics. While it doesn’t pull direct thematic parallels from Sabbath’s “Behind the Wall of Sleep,” Q-Tip and co-producer Blair Wells flipped the drum break into something heavy, urgent, and aggressive.

Quite frankly, it’s another excellent display of Q-Tip’s production prowess and ear for samples—how he can take something from a completely different world, a whole other era, and contextualize it into something relevant, topical, and necessary.

Sample: “Sweet Leaf” by Black Sabbath

Beastie Boys get major credit for bridging the gap between hip-hop and rock, though it’s often more aligned with punk. However, the way they flipped Black Sabbath’s “Sweet Leaf” on “Rhymin & Stealin” off Licensed to Ill became a loud, textbook example of rap embracing metal.

The thunderous riff is paired with drum patterns from Led Zeppelin’s “When the Levee Breaks” to build what can only be described as a pirate-rap anthem (a subgenre that, unfortunately, hasn’t fulfilled its potential). Sabbath’s lumbering riff becomes a battle cry, setting the stage for some of the most chaotic early rap-rock ever recorded. It’s raw, aggressive, and cartoonish in the best way possible.

Sample: “Behind the Wall of Sleep” by Black Sabbath

Before Tribe flipped the drum break from “Behind The Wall Of Sleep,” Organized Noize had already done it on OutKast’s “Hootie Hoo,” an incredibly underrated cannabis homage in hip-hop. This cut off Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik is far less funky and upbeat than other efforts on the groundbreaking debut. Although only the drums are sampled, Sabbath’s sludgy vibe permeates the verses, becoming a skeletal foundation for a song that’s equal parts cryptic and playful.

Sample: “Suicide Solution” by Ozzy Osbourne

There’s no doubt that Ozzy Osbourne’s essence influenced the horrorcore subgenre—even Esham has cited Ozzy as one of his inspirations. Necro’s “You Did It” pulls from the most controversial track in Ozzy’s solo catalog—“Suicide Solution,” a song long misinterpreted as glorifying suicide.

Necro leans all the way into the darkness, turning Ozzy’s grief and chaos into a horrorcore sermon of violence and nihilism. The sample is subtle and brief, only appearing toward the tail end of the song, but it lands right after Necro’s bloodthirsty verses. The sound of mental collapse is weaponized in true horrorcore fashion, marking one of the bleakest Black Sabbath samples ever used in hip-hop.