Standing on Business about "SWAG" by Justin Bieber
In the interest of starting this on a note promoting what I believe is great in the world, I would like to start this conversation by saying that “Let God Sort Em Out,” the latest studio album by the rap group The Clipse, and produced by Pharrell Williams that came out on July 11th and is absolutely incredible from top to bottom.
I should also say that I still have not heard the entirety of Justin Bieber's album, and that this is not a judgment on the music itself, but rather on the promotion and aesthetics around the release of the album, which honestly wouldn’t bother me so much if it weren’t flooding my algorithm.
So, first things first. Roughly a month ago a viral video hit the internet of Justin Bieber having a back-and-forth with some paparazzi during which he exclaims “[It’s not clocking to you!] It’s not clocking that [I’m standing on business].” using a mix of colloquial sayings from Black and Gay communities that has gained mainstream use in recent years. This video gained so much attention because the way that Justin Bieber uses the phrases, though technically correct, expressed an awkwardness and unfamiliarity with the use of the phrases that were amusing. I personally love this video and quote it all the time.
This same dynamic is expressed all over Justin Bieber’s new album, and starts immediately with naming his album “SWAG”. A term that again derives itself from the Black American community, and not for nothing, a quite dated one. After the shallow inclusions of MLK snippets on his “Justice” album in 2021, I was already nonplussed by the artistic approach of Justin Bieber as it pertained to black culture.
This is before I look down the list of features and see: Gunna, Sexxy Red, Cash Cobain, and that it is packed to the gills with Druski skits, one of which is called “STANDING ON BUSINESS.” This collection of artists are ones that I have witnessed license or parrot black culture for money: Gunna has recently talked about signing AI artists saying “if you can’t beat them, join them,” Sexxy Red is constantly given awkward pop crossovers by industry artists trying to replicate her brash and authentic brand (do I have to mention the horrible Bruno Mars track “Fat, Juicy, and Wet”?), a phenomena which I would say replicates itself on this album.
Druski has become one of the figures in this new age of internet stars that has cemented himself as one of the standout comedians to emerge, primarily expressed through his skits and streaming appearances. His humor, branding, and language are deeply entrenched in Black American culture, with many of his jokes touching upon experiences of Black American culture, so to see these features pack out Justin Bieber’s SWAG album, very much felt like window-dressing blackness.
Even looking at the visuals for the album, the photoshoot for the album was done by the same photographer, Renell Medrano, who did Kendrick Lamar’s “Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers” photoshoot, with many aesthetic parallels between the two.
If that wasn’t enough, Druski is all over the album offering Justin Bieber black and mild cigarettes throughout the album and telling Justin Bieber that he has a “black soul” on skits like “SOULFUL”. As I attempted to ignore this ridiculous assertion, I kept seeing similar comments like this expressed by people reacting to the album online, a majority of them Black people, and I ultimately felt I had to say something.
I have recently been listening to a lot of old Soul music: Gil Scott Heron, Amnesty, Nina Simone, and you want to know what was a quintessential element of all these artists’ music: struggle, and struggle attached to the Black experience in America. Soul Music is called that because, like Soul Food, it is supposed to be a form of Black Art that sustains and fortifies the spirits of Black people. Now, can you have soul without being Black? Absolutely! But it sure as hell wouldn’t be Black soul, and it wouldn’t be on an album as shallow and unchallenging as this one.
Tying this back to the Clipse album, both albums dropped on the same day, with the Clipse album being accompanied by a lengthy and well-planned rollout, and Justin Bieber's surprise dropping the same night. As a part of the Clipse album rollout, we learned through interviews that the Clipse chose to buy out their contract with their previous music label, Def Jam, the same label that Justin Bieber is currently signed to, as a result of Def Jam attempting to censor a Kendrick Lamar verse on the song “Chains and Whips.”
The reason for this alleged censorship attempt is speculated to be the result of Def Jam’s parent company, Universal Music Group, being trepidatious about two artists who have engaged in rap battles with Drake being on a song together, a fear that seems to be warranted considering Drake’s current defamation lawsuit against UMG.
Shortly after the release of both albums, Justin Bieber reposted something to his story praising his album and saying that the Clipse album is for “bitter old men who collect kaws dolls and shop at kith and union.”
It was ultimately this move that made me feel compelled to say something, especially since none of the media I follow seemed to care at all. Are the Clipse free from criticism or critique? No. But considering Justin’s positioning, his choice and approach to dissing them is distasteful and ignorant. Making such a statement against such an iconic rap music group, and one that produced such a high-quality album that pays homage to the spirit of hip-hop so thoroughly, is not only incorrect, but it is blatantly disrespectful, placed within the entire context of the Blackness that “SWAG” attempts to perform.
To produce an album (and really an entire career) that rests its laurels on black writers, artists, musicians, culture, and craft an album and rollout that accentuates this idea of you possessing the spirit of blackness, and simultaneously turn around and shit on Black Culture is just offensive.
There are plenty of White artists that I would say have soul: JMSN, Jamiroquai, Mac Eyers, Mac Miller, but this isn’t the claim made on this album. This album claims a Black man’s soul specifically, and Justin doesn’t express any modicum of authenticity that any of these figures do. And secondly, none of these albums cover themselves in Black aesthetics to appeal, but rather authentically engaged with their art forms to produce music that reflected their ideas, experiences, and culture.
What occurs on this album, by contrast, feels like musical colonialism, where the goal is to become and replace. To engage in shallow cosplay of a culture, while holding no actual responsibility to represent it in a respectful or detailed light.
Do I think that Justin Bieber is doing this intentionally? Honestly, no, but that’s also the whitest thing about this album. The ability to pull the beneficial parts of a culture, maybe throw it some money and recognition, and never have to acknowledge the culture or nuance that brought about this benefit.
If you like how this album sounds, more power to you, but as far as the creative approach and marketing of this album, I think this is one of the most irritating albums that I have had to contend with this year.