For "Backpack," Bieber and his collaborator Lil Wayne decided to go a little intergalactic. While this song lacks the personal flavor of literally every other song on Journals (except for "PYD"), it does contain a smooth melody and jiving beats that will easily worm their way into listener's heads. The normally mediocre Lil Wayne has a fittingly subdued guest verse that even contains some clever lines (and a Wayne's World reference). Is this song a throwaway? Possibly, and it's easy to see why it didn't make it to the Music Mondays portion of this project, but it fits nicely in the final third of the record.
Apparently "What's Hatnin'" is a thing the kids are saying these days, which just makes us here at Music Times feel old. Featuring Future, this song just exudes youth. The simplified, trap-influenced beat, the repetitive nature of the lyrics. If Bieber is trying to move himself in a more urban direction, this song definitely has him on track for that more so than anything else on Journals.
Here on "Swap It Out," it seems as though Bieber has returned to his introspective Music Mondays form. Lyrically, the teen idol looks into the complicated feelings that go into a relationship; mostly that he wants to "swap out" his feelings. This track falls the most in line with the first 10 Music Mondays single, with production values that are clearly complicated but manage to feel stripped down and simple.
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