Swizz Beatz Helped Clipse Get “So Be It” Sample Cleared

Key Takeaways:

• Swizz Beatz leveraged his Saudi Arabian ties to resolve a last-minute sample clearance issue for Clipse.
• The original version of “So Be It” dropped without the sample due to delays in international clearance.
• Roc Nation later updated streaming platforms with the intended version after Swizz’s intervention.

Clipse got some assistance from Swizz Beatz to make sure their Let God Sort Em Out album was released as they intended. Apparently, the producer had to do some maneuvering with an international connect to get a sample cleared for the Virginia rap duo.

In the run-up to the new album’s release, Clipse dropped a menacing video for “So Be It.” The song drew positive reaction and plenty of online chatter since Pusha T’s closing verse was quickly determined to be lyrical slander aimed at Travis Scott. However, that version of the track didn’t immediately hit DSPs — and now we know why.

On Tuesday (July 22), Audiomack co-founder Brian Zisook posted on X (formerly known as Twitter), detailing an interview he had with Steven Victor, Clipse’s longtime manager. According to Victor, they were unable to clear the sample from “Maza Akoulou” by late Saudi Arabian singer Talal Maddah, which was featured on “So Be It.” So, when Let God Sort Em Out initially dropped, it had the sample-less version of that track.

Victor then got a message from the “Ruff Ryders’ Anthem” producer. “Swizz asked, ‘Why didn’t you call me about [“So Be It”]?’” he said in the interview. “I told him, ‘I did — I sent it to you.’ He said, ‘I didn’t realize it was that record. Let me handle it.'”

It just so happened that Swizz was due in Saudi Arabia — where his creative agency, Good Intentions, is based — that same day. He met with his connect, and the sample was cleared. “He said, ‘I’ll connect with the right people in person and get it resolved.’ And that’s exactly what he did,” Victor explained.

The sample was not cleared until after the July 11 release of Let God Sort Em Out. But Roc Nation then updated the metadata on all the DSPs, making the proper version of “So Be It” available to all as intended.

In the music business, it always helps to have the right friend and, in turn, the right plug.