Justin Bieber is still hot off the release of his latest album Swag, which arrived earlier this month amid rumors of drug use and much publicized erratic behavior on social media. While the “Baby” hitmaker has not previously denied these rumors, he has taken to social media to seemingly allude to the alleged substance abuse.
In a cryptic video shared to Bieber’s Instagram Story on Sunday, July 20 (per Perez Hilton), late rapper DMX is seen talking to life coach Iyanla Vanzant in a 2013 episode of her talk show Iyanla, Fix My Life. At the time of the interview, Vanzant asked DMX is he was interested in living “his life as a clean man.”
The “Party Up” rapper was confused by the question, responding by asking “When you say clean — no weed? No drinking? Nothing?”
Vanzant clarified “nothing,” meaning no substance whatsoever. She noted that by going 100% clean, DMX would be a “clear, pure vessel for the voice of God.”
DMX quickly responded, “I think I’m exactly where I need to be with God.”
Whether or not Bieber shared the clip as a tribute to DMX, or if he was implying that he could relate to DMX in that moment, is unclear. However, as fans know, DMX unfortunately died in April 2021 at 50 years old, following a cocaine-induced heart attack.
This comes after months of widely publicized unusual behavior from the pop star. In February, he denied rumors of drug use and said that his disheveled look was because he was exhausted from working on new music and raising his son Jack Blues, whom he shares with his wife Hailey Bieber. Last month, it was reported that Justin and Hailey were struggling in their marriage. It was around this time that Bieber faced off with paparazzi, during which he shouted the now viral phrase “It’s not clocking to you that I’m standing on business.”
Justin addresses rumors of marital troubles, and alludes to the “clocking” incident on Swag. Swag has debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, with 163,000 pure copies sold in its first week.
