Justin Bieber just dropped new music for the first time in four years, and he’s taking the opportunity to get some things off his chest. Not only does his seventh album, SWAG, showcase his devotion to his wife, Hailey Bieber, but it also addresses recent speculation surrounding his mental state.
The 21-track project blends elements of pop, R&B, and lo-fi across tracks like “Walking Away” and “Go Baby.” Justin also included spoken-word interludes and voice memos from comedian Druski in between songs.
On the album’s 16th track, “Standing on Business,” the Grammy winner pulls audio from the viral meme where he confronted paparazzi with some modern prophecy: “You’re not getting it. It’s not clocking to you. It’s not clocking to you that I’m standing on business, is it?”
The infamous encounter only went down last month on June 13, but that didn’t stop JB from adding it to his highly anticipated record.
“I like that you pronounce business,” Druski tells Justin during the 50-second interlude. “Usually, when I say, ‘Standing on business,’ I say, ‘Standing on bid-ness.’ I don’t say, ‘Standing on business, bro.’”
Druski makes a cameo in another song as well, called “Therapy Session,” in which Justin alludes to his sometimes questionable social media activity. In the convo, Justin opens up to Druski about his mental health struggles, telling the comedian, “That’s been a tough thing for me recently, is feeling like I’ve had to go through a lot of my struggles as a human—as all of us do—really publicly.”
He adds, “And so people are always asking if I’m okay, and that starts to really weigh on me. It starts to make me feel like I’m the one with issues and every else is perfect.”
Hours before the album hit streaming services, Justin announced the drop with billboards in Iceland, L.A., New York, and Atlanta. Hailey even referenced his viral meme when she supported him in a since-deleted Instagram Story, writing, “Is it finally clocking to you fucking losers?”
On June 27, the “One Time” singer defended his paparazzi confrontation when he reposted a fan’s Instagram Story that read, “Not even Justin’s security guard was safe from his wrath.”
Justin clarified, “This guy worked at the restaurant, he’s not my security. He had to understand I was standing on business.”
In a separate Story post, Justin expanded upon the joke when a friend of his asked him, “I’m currently sitting on business, is that possible?”
“We’ve never sat on business,” Justin wrote. “Only stood.”
Noted!
