“I was the head of promotions, CHR promotions at Def Jam,” M.C. Serch explained. “We were about to put out ‘Reasonable Doubt’ and Bigs, Dame [Dash], and Jay came to me and they said, ‘Hey, we gotta clear the sample on ‘Dead Presidents’– ‘I’m out for presidents to represent me’ — off ‘Illmatic.’ So, I say, ‘Yeah, that’s not a problem, give me a check for $2,500 and I’ll clear it.’”
