Fivio Foreign Says Beyoncé Asked Him to 'Clean Up' Song That Samples Destiny's Child's "Say My Name"

Fivio Foreign recalled the story of Beyoncé asking him to "clean up" a track that sampled a Destiny's Child song before she cleared it for his use.

April 8, 2022

Fivio Foreign’s long-awaited debut album, B.I.B.L.E., has arrived and it boasts an array of guest appearances, as well as some high-profile samples, like one from Destiny’s Child.

But that sample, from the group’s song “Say My Name,” gave the Brooklyn rapper a bit of trouble. In a new interview on Hot 97’s Ebro in the Morning, Fivio described the difficulties behind getting the sample cleared—and that for Beyoncé, it was a matter of the lyrical content.

“Shoutout Destiny’s Child, appreciate that, they cleared that joint,” Fivio said around the six-minute mark of the interview. His song, “What’s His Name,” also features Coi Leray and Queen Naija. Fivio added that upon hearing the song, Bey had a few notes. “She heard it. It was a little vulgar, a little bit for her, at first. I cleaned it up, I cleaned it up, I cleaned it up a lot. It was like, ‘You can’t be talking about girls like that!”

Fivio then thanked music-publishing executive John Platt for his assistance in clearing the sample. “Afterward, Big John and them explained to me, it’s a bigger record now and it made sense. One day they called me and they was like, ‘Yo, Big John wanna talk to you,’ and I’m like damn, the album drops in a week. I’m thinking straight bad news, I ain’t gonna lie, cause I had to go back. It was like, ‘Alright, you cleaned your part up, clean these other words up.’ Then it was like, ‘Clean Coi’s part up a little bit,’ and I’m like ‘Damn, so it’s over?’ So he called me, it was ringing, I answered the phone, and I’m like, ‘Hello?’ and he’s like, ‘You’re welcome.’ I’m like, ‘What? Is it cleared?’ He’s like, ‘You’re welcome.’”

B.I.B.L.E., which was executive produced by Kanye West, was initially supposed to arrive in March. In addition to Coi and Naija, the album includes appearances from ASAP Rocky, Lil Yachty, DJ Khaled, Polo G, Lil Tjay, Chlöe, among others, as well as the previously released singles “City of Gods” with Alicia Keys and Ye, and “Magic City” featuring Quavo.