Hot on the heels of his decent, if not technically mind-blowing, verses on “Drummer Boy,” Bieber’s alter ego Shawty Mane has surfaced once again to rap for the masses. His “Otis” freestyle, from an appearance on L.A.’s Power 106, is part PR stunt (to distract from those pesky paternity-suit rumors; note the “It’s not mine” moment in the second verse), part beef-squasher (take that, Primo), and part bewilderingly impressive performance. Yes, the fedora is slightly troubling, and the whole thing was likely ghostwritten, but Biebs actually manages a competent flow on this one. (“Personally, I think she is perfectly perfect” may not be lyrically inspired, but it is definitely hard to rap. You try.) With Kanye and Drake both expected for his upcoming album, could this be Shawty Mane’s informal declaration of intent? Will the world actually see a Justin Bieber rap album in 2012? And if so, could it be … not that bad? This is a lot of Justin Bieber Thoughts to process in one day; we’ll leave you with them now.
