The day Clipse released their long-awaited album, 'Let God Sort Em Out,' one of its most memorable tracks, 'So Be It,' was missing from streaming services. The filthy, Pharrell-laced production was instead greeted with a stand-in, "So Be It Pt. II." Behind the scenes, the original was tied up in sample clearance red tape. But this was no ordinary sample: it was a slice of Saudi music history, a passage from Talal Madah's adored hit "Maza Akoulou."
And enter Swizz Beatz, the super-producer who not only made a call, but caught a plane and willed the clearance into existence.
The two were at an impasse until Swizz got involved, said Steven Victor, Clipse's manager of more than 15 years. "Swizz was like, 'Why didn't you call me about that ['So Be It']?' I said: 'I did, I gave it to you. He said, 'I didn't know it was that record. Let me handle it.'"
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Swizz was already supposed to catch a flight to Saudi Arabia later that same day. Instead of waiting for back-and-forth emails or legal teams playing phone tag, he relied on his robust ties in the region to arrange in-person meetings to verify the sample personally.
Swizz isn't just a visitor in the Middle East; he's fully entrenched. He has a camel racing team named Saudi Bronx and runs a creative agency in Riyadh called Good Intentions. There's no duplicating that sort of relationship equity with a LinkedIn message.
Hours after the album dropped at midnight, Swizz's ploy paid off. The sample was cleared, and the original, listened-to version of "So Be It" appeared on streaming platforms just a tad late to the party.
The track's origins go back months, to when Pharrell Williams, the LP's executive producer, stumbled upon the voice of Talal Madah on Swizz Beatz's Instagram. The legendary producer called Pusha T at once. "Pharrell heard it and he just called me, like, 'What the hell is that?'" Pusha said in an interview with Ari Melber.
Madah's voice resonated literally and figuratively, and it was the pulse that gave "So Be It" its life. It's a mash-up that might never have seen the light of day without a real-world, last-minute power move from a man as comfortable in a boardroom as he is in a desert arena.
As most producers are left to fight battles through emails and lawyers, Swizz Beatz essentially formed a team to ensure that Clipse could convey their vision to listeners the way it was always meant to be. That's not just dedication, that's legacy work.
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