It definitely seems as though Justin Bieber is trying to reshape his image as a serious, adult artist with a heavy R&B influence. For his Music Journals project, which is set to drop on Monday (Dec. 23), he collaborated with R. Kelly, Future, Lil Wayne and more. Just yesterday, the music video premiered for his collaboration single with Tyga "Wait For A Minute." Now, the old "Baby" singer has released a remix of Sage the Gemini's super chill, kind of sexy rap song "Gas Pedal."
The "Gas Pedal" remix begins much the same way: with a funky, drippy whistle, Sage The Gemini's trademark "Ho-ho-ho-ho-holy s---," and the song's laidback rapping chorus. After that, though, Bieber takes over, making the song his own creation and expanding the up-and-coming rapper's audience base by 40-million Beliebers.
"I put my foot down / Yeah, that's the way it is, / Looking good now, what you see is what you get, / Neighborhood hella jealous when they see the wheels," Bieber rap-sings, matching Sage the Gemini's original cadence perfectly.
This whole remix absolutely should not work. One of the most sizzling rap songs of the year mixed with a teen idol sounds like a total joke in theory. But, whoever wrote Bieber's verses in the "Gas Pedal" remix did a solid job. He's got some clever lines, here, and ties together the car/gas pedal/booty shaking metaphor together incredibly well. And "up all night like Adderall" is a line on par with any of today's more clever MCs.
If Journals didn't convince you that the Biebz can grow up, check out his version of "Gas Pedal" below, via Idolator:
