Of his rap alter ego Shawty Mane, who appears on ‘Boyfriend,’ Bieber tells MTV News, ‘It’s something that I love to do.’
By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by Kelly Marino
Justin Bieber
Photo: MTV News
When Justin Bieber dropped “Boyfriend,” he definitely channeled his rapper alter ego Shawty Mane on the verses, spewing lyrics like, “If I was your boyfriend, I’d never let you go/ I can take you places you ain’t never been before/ Baby take a chance or you’ll never ever know/ I got money in my hands that I’d really like to blow/ Swag swag swag, on you.”
The song now has many fans wondering whether more rapping will appear on his upcoming album, Believe. When MTV News caught up with the teen star on the set of his “Boyfriend” video, he shared just how much rapping will make the final cut.
“There’s not a lot of rapping on the album,” he said. “As people know, I’m a singer, and I don’t want to get people confused with that, but it’s something that I love to do, so you guys will definitely hear more of it.”
Fans will also hear more rapping from Bieber’s pal Drake, who recently opened up about working with his friend on the release.
“It sounds like everything you’d imagine a great Justin Bieber and Drake song would sound like,” the Take Care MC teased in an interview with Capital FM. Describing the process of making the track, he said he went about creating the song in a way he hadn’t done in the past.
“We meet on the ground of melody. He’s always like, ‘Yo, your melodies are so crazy,’ and ‘Give me the craziest melody.’ So, we sat there for a night, and it was actually a great studio process,” Drake explained. “What we would do is he would go in the booth for 10 minutes, and he would hum melodies, and then he would walk out, and then I’d be like, ‘I like this one,’ and then I’d go in, and we started coaching each other and amping each other up.”
Bieber also got a studio visit from Lil Wayne, but there’s been no word on whether the pair worked on any tracks for the album, dropping later this year.
For anyone wondering if Bieber truly does have the swag to pull of those kinds of collaborations, “Boyfriend” writer/producer Mike Posner, who describes the song as “super hip-hop,” assures critics that Bieber has what it takes.
“I think we’ve all known Justin since he was 13, and that’s not the kid I was in the studio with anymore,” Posner said. “He’s an 18-year-old. He skateboards with Lil Wayne and hangs out with Lil Twist. Those are his homeys. And he listens to hip-hop, and he’s a really cool kid. He’s not a corny guy.”
Would you like to hear more rapping from Justin on Believe? Tell us in the comments below!
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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1682856/justin-bieber-believe-rapping.jhtml
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