Ozzy Osbourne has heaped the highest of praise onto an incredible cover of a Black Sabbath classic, performed by an r&b heavyweight who's spent most of his career being known for his pioneering use of auto-tune rather than his own, natural vocal talents.
As it turns out, T-Pain - real name Faheem Rashad Najm - actually has an incredible voice, as spotlighted by a special, auto-tune-free covers set he performed recently that included a rendition of legendary Black Sabbath hit, War Pigs, originally released on their landmark 1970 sophomore album, Paranoid. T-Pain had previously covered the track for his 2023 covers compilation On Top Of The Covers, which also included his own takes on legendary songs by the likes of Journey and Frank Sinatra.
It was his rendition of War Pigs, however, that attracted the most attention, garnering the most Spotify streams of any track on the record, while a video of his recent performance of the cover quickly went viral on social media
Now, the Prince Of Darkness himself has had his say on the matter, sharing the video of T-Pain's War Pigs cover with gushing praise.
"This is the best cover of War Pigs ever," Ozzy beams on Twitter, before suggesting he'd have liked to have been involved, asking bluntly: "Why didn’t you guys call me?"
T-Pain himself was quick to respond, replying on Twitter: "You’re always invited. Top of the list, every time!! Thank you so much. Means a lot coming from the greatness himself"
See the video - and the heartwarming exchange between the two music heavyweights - below.
You’re always invited. Top of the list, every time!! Thank you so much. Means a lot coming from the greatness himself 🙇🏿♂️January 11, 2024
Ozzy Osbourne recently reaffirmed his desire to return to the stage in some capacity once he has fully recovered from his recent health setbacks.
Speaking on The Osbournes Podcast and responding to a hoax video that 'confirmed' he had died last month, the Double O said: “This thing on YouTube, it’s got ‘Celebrities Who Have Died Today,’ and there’s a picture of me. And I go, ‘I’m not dead. I’m not really dead. Just a little flesh wound.'
"It’s a bit fucking much, isn’t it?," he continued. "I’m not going any-fucking-where. And I’m gonna go up and do some more gigs before I’m finished anyway."
In February of last year, Osbourne confirmed that he had retired from touring, but insisted that he still planned to perform occasional shows if possible. "Never would I have imagined that my touring days would have ended this way," he lamented. "My team is currently coming up with ideas for where I will be able to perform without having to travel from city to city and country to country."
A new Ozzy Osbourne album is expected at some point later this year.
