Speaking about the song to the Official Charts Company, Labrinth has stated that he was influenced by acts such as Electric Light Orchestra, Nina Simone, James Brown and John Barry when writing and recording "Let It Be", explaining that he "wanted to go gospel and soul and mix it with rock and electronic production" on the track.

[1] The lyrical content of the song is said to be influenced by Labrinth's anxiety over his second album, with the artist offering the following overview of the track's origins: It doesn't sound like anything I've done before.

[4] Upon its release, Labrinth explained that "I knew I had been gone a long time and needed to come back with a single that was special, something forward-thinking ...

[7] Rachel Sonis of Idolator described the video as "dizzying" and "eerie",[7] while a news story by radio station Kiss dubbed it "stripped back".

[8] The music video for "Let It Be", directed by duo Us (Luke Taylor and Christopher Barrett),[9] was released on 27 August 2014.