Ozzy Osbourne is Getting Creative to Stick with the Times
As long was Ozzy Osbourne is with us on this Earth, he’s going to be in the public eye. The Prince of Darkness has never been shy or lazy about putting himself out there, whether through his music, television, or even social media in more recent years. And we already know that he’ll be jetting off on a rescheduled tour come 2022 when (hopefully) there are no more concerns about the coronavirus pandemic and Ozzy has had a chance to undergo further treatment for his Parkinson’s.
Even as Ozzy maintains his general public persona though, he’s also been finding some creative ways to stay current in recent years. Whether it’s an effort to stick with the times, expose himself to new audiences, or simply stick with the times, we’ve begun to see the rock icon popping up in unexpected places.
The most recent example comes in the form of Ozzy’s animated “It’s a Raid” music video with Post Malone. Rolling Stone has the scoop on the video, explaining that it recounts a beloved Black Sabbath story — one that involves Ozzy accidentally summoning the police to a Bel Air mansion, prompting the band to unnecessarily dumping their entire illicit stash. So in a way, the video is almost a nostalgic one for Sabbath. At the same time though, the animation is thoroughly modern (in that it resembles some popular adult animated comedies on TV these days), and Post Malone’s involvement comes across very much like a bid to younger audiences.
Another example of Ozzy’s recent inventiveness — and perhaps a stranger and more unexpected one — comes from the expansive universe of online casinos. Lest that sound too bizarre, we should point out that there are actually a lot of sites featuring slot machine games based on groups like Guns N’ Roses and Metallica, as well as Jimi Hendrix. Boasting a particularly impressive collection of the “best and latest online games” from this category, however, Foxy Games also includes the “Ozzy Osbourne Video Slot.” For an arcade slot machine, it’s a pretty rollicking game featuring both music and visual content from the iconic rocker. Whether or not this is specifically reaching a new audience (as the Post Malone video does) is unclear. But there’s little doubt Ozzy is finding a few new listeners among the droves of people who scroll through casino games every day.
And then of course there was Ozzy’s cardboard Super Bowl appearance. As you probably noticed if you watched, this year’s game featured seemingly innumerable cutouts of fans and celebrities alike, as a means of filling in seats between socially distanced fans. Ozzy tweeted out a photo of his own cutout, and though ComicBook noted that it’s unclear if he bought the spot himself or a loyal fan did, it was a nice bit of publicity. A relevant tweet and physical presence associated with what’s become one of the biggest social media events of the year can’t help but expand one’s image.
None of this means that Ozzy is in the midst of some brilliant multi-faceted PR exercise. If anything, he’s just creative. But as he begins to fade somewhat as an artist, it’s been fun to see him still putting himself out there in new ways.
Keep an eye on Rock ’N’ Load and we may just highlight whatever it is he comes up with next.