Who Is Lightskin Bieber & Why Is He Back?
Justin Bieber has had so many distinct eras that you could fill an entire book on the subject. Someone who's been an A-lister since 2008 will obviously go through plenty of stylistic switch-ups and Bieber is no exception.
As of February 24, with the release of Bieber's feature on Don Toliver's "Private Landing," fans are hailing the revival of Lightskin Justin Bieber.
So, for all my fellow boomers and white folks, who (or what) is Lightskin Bieber?
"Lightskin Bieber" (or Bizzle) is a term that jokingly refers to a specific period of time — generally accepted as 2012-2014 or so — when Bieber was transitioning from squeaky clean Radio Disney star to (slightly) edgier pop singer, getting tatted and hanging out with Soulja Boy (who may have been the first to call Bieber "Bizzle").
This is also a reference to "lightskin face," a squinty-eyed selfie pose that Bieber quite frequently indulged in around 2012.
To be clear, Bieber is so white that he's literally Canadian; the term Lightskin Bieber is obviously a tongue-in-cheek reference to his adoption of Black cultural codes ranging from rapping to custom grillz.
Bieber has long enjoyed the benefits of privilege (who else could own an illegal monkey, get arrested for DUI, or get filmed saying the N-word without fearing actual repercussion?) and is no stranger to cultural appropriation but Lightskin Bieber is a tongue-in-cheek reference to the less problematic times when Bieber borrowed from Black culture.
Lightskin Bieber is instead more a state of mind than an actual person, and he resurfaced on the Don Toliver track with a few murmered bars ("She wanna come this way / Heat it up, microwave") between his typically sing-songy verses.
Bieber's appearance on ""Private Landing" especially recalls moments like Bieber's feature on Travis Scott's "Maria I'm Drunk" from 2015's Rodeo, where the pop singer mixed his wispy rapping with hooky sung refrains.
So, though Bieber ain't dressing like he did when he was 18 (it's all luxury brands and YEEZY inspiration), he's at least getting the sound back, according to fans.
On TikTok, the apparent return of Lightskin Bieber has been welcomed with open arms; the term immediately began trending in the wake of the Don Toliver song (wonder what Hailey thinks).
The #bizzle hashtag alone, for instance, has nearly 448 million views, though that may be at least due to Bieber stans' propensity to use nearly every Justin Bieber hashtag imaginable on their posts.
Now that Lightskin Bieber music is back, though, are we not due for Bieber to return to his off-the-head baseball caps and longline T-shirts?
Or at least a new Drake collab? Bring the hair back, at least.
