Beyoncé Initially Didn’t Like Fivio Foreign’s Sample of Destiny’s Child’s ‘Say My Name’
One of the biggest songs Beyoncé released with Destiny’s Child is “Say My Name.” The song has been referenced in other music and moments in pop culture in the past two decades. Now, “Say My Name” is sampled prominently on the latest track from rapper Fivio Foreign. But Foreign says Queen Bey wasn’t happy with the original lyrics he had on the song and made him edit it to be a bit more respectful.
Fivio foreign samples Destiny’s Child’s ‘Say My Name’
Forein recently released “What’s My Name,” a collaboration with singer Queen Naja and Coi Leray. He samples Destiny’s Child’s “Say My Name” on the track. The song details a man courting a woman in another relationship. In order to use the sample, Destiny’s Child had to approve it. But not before Beyoncé suggested a few changes.
“Shout out to Destiny’s Child, I appreciate that, they cleared that joint. Beyoncé heard it, she had to hear it. It was a little vulgar a little bit at first for her. So I cleaned it up a lot. She was like, ‘Nah, you can’t be talking about girls like that,’” he told Ebro in a recent interview.
Foreign says it was worth making the edits because of the impact the song made, and the newer generation of fans who listened to the song. Because of using the sample, the song gained more traction. “Afterwards, they explained to be that it’s a bigger record now,” he said. “It made sense.”
Beyoncé penned the song from real-life inspiration
The lyrics to “Say My Name” were inspired by a real-life situation. According to Beyoncé, she came up with the lyrics after realizing the man she was dating wouldn’t say her name during a phone conversation because he was around another woman. The other group members also experienced similar situations.
As it turns out, the mid-tempo beat and melody the song is famous for almost didn’t happen. Rodney Jerkins, who produced the song, came up with the beat after working with The Spice Girls in London. He originally used the uptempo beat derived from what he heard in London for “Say My Name” but the group did not like it.
“The girls hated it actually,” Jerkins told Vlad TV. “They recorded the song but they didn’t like the beat. No one liked the beat – the label, management Matthew Knowles at the time hated it and I was like, ‘Trust me, it’s going to be the new wave’ as I’m trying to convince them and myself that it’s dope.”
Jerkins replayed the song while mixing the final edit and realized he also didn’t like the arrangement with the beat. He calls the original beat “wack.” Jenkins reworked it and the song is what fans loved it.
The song is one of the group’s biggest hits
“Say My Name” was released as the group’s third single from their sophomore album The Writings On The Wall in November 1999. Though it took 12 weeks to reach the No. 1 spot on the Billboard charts, the song spent 32 weeks on the Hot 100.
“Say My Name” also performed well internationally also. It topped the charts in the U.K. and became Destiny’s Child’s first No. 1 single in Asia.
“Say My Name” became the first Grammy-winning song for both Destiny’s Child and Jerkins. Jerkins says the song is the favorite he’s produced in his career because of the journey behind it.
In addition to a Grammy, “Say My Name” also earned Destiny’s Child an MTV Video Music Award, and a Soul Train Music Award along with a few others. Billboard lists “Say My Name” at No. 7 on their list of 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time – as well as naming the song the best song of the year 2000.
