Cole Burston; Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
Drake made sure to honor the late Ozzy Osbourne during his recent Birmingham stop on the $ome $exy $ongs 4 UK tour Wednesday night (July 23).
A day ahead of his show at the Utilita Arena — where he hit the stage to the opening of Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man” — the rapper paid his respects to the “Godfather of Heavy Metal” at the iconic Black Sabbath Bench on Broad Street.
Surrounded by fresh flowers and handwritten tributes left by fans, Drake poured out a splash of tequila in the Rock icon’s honor. “I just came out to pay respects to someone who lived it to the fullest,” he told The New York Times afterwards, describing Osbourne as a true “cultural touchstone.”
Drake also shared a carousel of monochromatic Instagram photos from his visit, including shots with locals and the late icon’s tribute site. Initially captioned “Drank with the NY Times last night for Ozzy,” the post was later edited to a single dove emoji.
The “Prince of Darkness” had just taken the stage for one final performance with Black Sabbath at Villa Park two weeks before his death. There, he thanked the crowd from the “bottom of [his] heart” for their years of support. He was 76 years old.
Osbourne passed away Tuesday morning (July 22), leaving behind his longtime wife, Sharon, and two children, Kelly and Jack. In a statement confirming his passing, his family shared: “It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning. He was with family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time.”
Since then, the music community has shared an outpouring of love and memories of the “War Pigs” star. T-Pain mourned the loss of Ozzy Osbourne, calling the rock legend’s passing “heartbreaking.” On Tuesday (July 22), the singer took to Instagram to honor the late icon by reposting his soulful 2023 live cover of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” — a performance Ozzy himself had once hailed as a standout.
“Heartbroken by the news,” T-Pain wrote in the caption. “I was blessed to be able to cover War Pigs and get your recognition. Ozzy forever.” T-Pain originally performed the cover during his Live From the Sun Rose concert series. After seeing the clip, Ozzy took to X to praise the rendition, calling it “the best cover of War Pigs ever” and joking, “Why didn’t you guys call me?”
Trick Daddy also paid his respects, telling TMZ Hip Hop, “The iconic legend will be truly missed, especially by me — a young Black man out of the ghetto of Miami — for giving me the clearance to sample his ‘Crazy Train’ masterpiece.”
That 1980 classic was flipped in 2004 by producers Jim Jonsin and Bigg D for Trick, Lil Jon, and Twista’s explosive hit “Let’s Go.” The song became an anthem that dominated stadiums, movie trailers, and commercials. The song went on to become Trick’s biggest Billboard hit, peaking at No. 7, but was never heard by Ozzy until 2021 when he heard the track for the first time — and it reportedly blew him away.
Take a look at Drake paying respects to Ozzy Osbourne above.