Justin Bieber is experiencing some reaction after using Martin Luther King Jr.’s words and speeches on his latest album.
Bieber released his sixth studio album entitled “Justice” on Friday and as anxious fans started listening to the album over the weekend, many were perplexed to hear the long-dead civil rights icon, which led some to use the social networks to share their confusion in the artist’s bold creative choice.
According to Yahoo Entertainment, “Justice” begins with one of Martin Luther King Jr’s most famous quotes: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
The quote is attributed to his April 1963 “Birmingham Chain Letter”.
JUSTIN BIEBER REVEALS NEW ALBUM ‘JUSTICE’, SAYS HE HOPES THAT ‘PROVIDES COMFORT’ ON THIS BROKEN PLANET ‘
Six tracks later, the album contains an “MLK Interlude”. The track is a 1-minute, 44-second clip of King’s sermon “But If Not”, which he delivered at Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church in November 1967.
“I tell you this morning that if you have never found something so dear and precious to you that you are going to die for it, then you are not fit to live,” King said at the time.
Although Bieber chose to quote the late civil rights leader directly, even giving him credit as a songwriter on the album, some wondered if the context of the songs deserves the white singer using King’s words.
For example, Variety critic Chris Williams notes that music after King’s second segment of the album has to do with risking his life for the novel. Bieber is probably referring to his wife, Hailey Baldwin, on the track. The reviewer questions the wisdom behind apparently comparing the struggle to dispute a woman’s attention with the situation of the civil rights movement of the 1960s.
FANS FAWN ON JUSTIN BIEBER’S ALBUM ‘JUSTICE’: ‘ABSOLUTELY KILLED’
Justin Bieber faced negative reaction for including quotes from Martin Luther King Jr. on his latest album.
(AP / Getty images)
It didn’t take long for listeners to access Twitter to share their thoughts on the subject as well.
“Why did Justin Bieber, a white man, use Martin Luther King Jr. on his album entitled” Justice “, which is about his wife, who is a white woman?” a user wrote. “Otherwise, the music is cute.”
“now I know that Rev. Martin Luther King is not on this Justin Bieber album, my eyes and ears must be deceiving me”, another user added.
“Justin Bieber really started a track with one of Martin Luther King Jr’s speeches and started making the whole song about his wife … huh,” other added.
“Justin Bieber’s album starts with a clip of Martin Luther King in a song about his wife missing. I feel like I’m going crazy,” someone else wrote.
“are we going to talk about Justin Bieber using audio by Martin Luther King Jr before singing about his wife at the opening of his new album? Why did he do that”, other noticed.
Although the artist is on fire in the people who heard his album, an extraordinarily relevant voice is defending himself by using quotes from Martin Luther King Jr. – his daughter.
Bernice King accessed Twitter on Thursday to praise Bieber for amplifying his late father’s message of bravery and doing the right thing.
“Each of us, including artists and presenters, can do something,” she wrote. “Thank you, @justinbieber, for your support, in honor of #Justice, the work of @TheKingCenter and our #BeLove campaign, which is part of our global justice movement. #MLK #EndRacism.”
CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO OUR ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER
In an article published on Friday, the singer talked to Vogue about his decision to include King’s controversial quotes on his album, noting that there are still large sections of the population who are not familiar with King’s work.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPLICATION
“What I wanted to do with this was to amplify [Dr] Martin Luther King Jr’s voice for this generation, “Bieber told the outlet.” Being Canadian was not part of my culture […] this speech was actually during the time that [he had] a feeling that he would die for the cause, and what he was facing was basically racism and division. I think his message was that many people may be afraid to stand up for what is right, but if you are not standing up for justice – for what is right – what are you doing with your life? I am sorry to go so deep, but these are the times we are living in. That’s why I wanted to make this album, because I think it’s very timely and very necessary. “