The Black Sabbath classic song "Iron Man" is still used on Kanye West's new album Vultures 1, even after Ozzy Osbourne turned down his request for a sample. Is this mad disrespect for Ozzy Osbourne?!
Kanye West Tests Ozzy Osbourne's Temper
"We get so many requests for these songs," Ozzy's wife and manager Sharon Osbourne said. "and when we saw that request, we just said no way." Without permission, West would be unable to release a new song that used the sample. "We've been in touch with his team" about the legal issue," says Sharon Osbourne. "And it's also an issue of having respect for another artist."
To clarify, the 1983 Us Festival performance of "Iron Man" by Ozzy Osbourne's solo band is not featured on the version of Vultures 1 that West released.
Rather, it borrows a portion of West's song "Hell of a Life," which was published in 2010 under Universal Music Group (UMG) and features an interpolation of the guitar riff from Black Sabbath's "Iron Man."
Still, the band's members, Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward, all of whom have composition and publishing credits on "Hell of a Life," would probably also need to provide their consent for this use, as Billboard reported.
The reason "Hell of a Life" has more songwriters than "Iron Man" alone is that the song contains multiple samples. They also feature Sylvester Stewart, a.k.a. Sly Stone, and swamp rocker Tony White Joe. "She's My Baby" by The Mojo Men, a band that Stewart performed with and composed songs for in his early career, is sampled in the Stewart song.
Wixen Music Publishing's founder, Randall Wixen, admits that his company did not approve the usage of "Carnival." Wixen Music Publishing represents "She's My Baby" and holds a 35% ownership in the songwriting and publishing of "Hell of a Life."
Kanye Subtituted One Illegal Sample For Another Unauthorized Sample
Wixen finds it hilarious that Kanye substituted a sample from "Hell of a Life," which also has vocals by Osbourne and Tony Iommi, for the illegally obtained portion of the Ozzy Osbourne song "Iron Man."
"It's ironic that Kanye replaced the unlicensed sample of the Ozzy Osbourne track 'Iron Man' with a sample of 'Hell of a Life,' which also samples a song by Osbourne and Tony Iommi," says Wixen. "So, he's just substituted one unauthorized Ozzy sample for another and now brought our song into the picture.
In a perfect world, all samples would be approved and cleared prior to release. It is basic respect for the songwriter." Furthermore, it's not the only unauthorized use of a song or audio on the album.
A representative for Primary Wave, an organization that collaborates with James Brown's estate, informs Billboard that the Vultures 1 song "Fuk Sumn" does not have permission to sample The Godfather of Soul's well-known song "Funky President (People It's Bad)."
Unresolved composer splits are frequently seen on albums, much to the chagrin of authors and publishers. While it is less often, albums are nevertheless occasionally issued without interpolations or cleared samples, according to Reservoir Media President and COO Rell Lafargue.
However, West's level of fame and appeal makes the album an extreme case in point.
