Drake producer Boi-1da has confirmed that the removal of Blue Green Red from streaming platforms was due to a sample clearance issue.
During a live stream earlier this week, the producer addressed the song's removal when asked by fans, and revealed that it could potentially return to streaming platforms in the future.
"That was due to a sample clearance issue that's getting resolved. And, uh, it could possibly be back up," he responded.
This aligns with a prior report about legal concerns regarding the song.
Jamaican producer Cleveland "Clevie" Browne, of Steely & Clevie, had told DancehallMag that Blue Green Red had used elements from Tiger's 1991 Dancehall hit When without the proper clearance. The interpolation is evident in Drake's post-chorus line, "What the clock inna London? Yeah, Big Ben," which echoes Tiger's original lyric, "Weh di clock inna London name? (Big Ben)."
"They used the melody just in a section, and it was repeated twice. So this is a clear infringement," Browne had said.
Blue Green Red, initally shared in Drake's "100 Gigs for Your Headtop" dump of unreleased music and behind-the-scenes content in early August, was officially released on August 10 via OVO/Republic Records, a division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
According to Browne, while his publishers were contacted about clearance, they weren't provided with the actual song to review, and therefore, he could not clear the song without hearing it first.
The Dancehall producer acknowledged that it's common for music companies to seek clearance at the last minute, but emphasized the importance of proper evaluation.
"We need to know the frequency of how the work is used, so that we can know the level of infringement to evaluate what is reasonable in terms of copyright share," he explained. "Efforts were made to get to us, but it is the record company's responsibility to clear the song."
Since the song's release, a dispute emerged between producer Gussie Clarke and Browne over the royalty splits for Tiger's When. Clarke, who claimed to be a publishing representative for Tiger, is upset that Browne allegedly changed the long-established splits, which had initially given the veteran artist 50% and Steely & Clevie 50%. Browne defended the revision, saying it aligned with past practices for a three-way split in light of Steely & Clevie's contributions.
Meanwhile, Tiger and his daughter issued a cease-and-desist letter to Clarke, demanding that the producer stop acting as his authorized publishing representative. However, Clarke insists he had an agreement and has even provided Tiger financial support over the years.
Blue Green Red, which debuted at No. 63 on the Billboard Hot 100, had racked up over 15 million streams on Spotify before it was removed.
