Justin Bieber And Michael Rapaport Tease Comic Basketball Session For ‘Complex’ Mag
Justin Bieber fans are on high alert for the singer’s forthcoming Complex magazine cover story, which will also feature comedian and actor Michael Rapaport in a basketball photo shoot.
On Friday, the 21-year-old superstar updated his over 65 million Twitter followers, writing, “Cover shoot.” Shortly after, he got specific and posted a note to his Fahlo account, which read, “Complex cover shoot.”
Cover shoot
— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) July 24, 2015
More teases followed. Bieber tweeted “u ain’t ready” to the Justified actor.
@MichaelRapaport u ain’t ready
— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) July 24, 2015
Meanwhile, manager Scooter Braun tweeted an on-topic message containing a link to an Instagram video and a jokey note about Bieber’s “signature move” on court.
It’s no secret that the Biebs can ball. Earlier this year, he was even named MVP at Kanye West’s basketball-themed 38th birthday party.
Braun’s caption included the hashtag “#complex.”
Rapaport and actor-videographer Dean Collins also joined the online action. Along with the singer, both posted the same clip of Rapaport typically pretending to lose it Brooklyn-style while Dean and Bieber play it straight.
Rapaport’s video captions suggest some (or all) of the audio from the Complex magazine basketball shoot may be used in the actor’s “IAmRapaportPodcast” show.
“The Justin Bieber FreakOut #IAmRapaportPodcast @thedeancollins,” Rapaport wrote on his Instagram page. Over on Twitter, he riffed on the singer’s 2010 signature hit “Baby.”
Baby Baby Baby this is a good dude with a good sense of humor: pic.twitter.com/kxhgOlAyFk
— MichaelRapaport (@MichaelRapaport) July 25, 2015
TGIF! @michaelrapaport @thedeancollins @justinbieber #iamrapaportpodcast #CelebrityAllStarGame2011 @iamrapaport pic.twitter.com/shOORQOFy8
— IAMRAPAPORTPODCAST (@iamrapaport) July 25, 2015
Rapaport shared a slightly longer clip on Saturday.
The full Beiber Freak-Out @deanrcollins @scooterbraun @justinbieber pic.twitter.com/diEffinmC4
— MichaelRapaport (@MichaelRapaport) July 25, 2015
Meanwhile, on Twitter, Justin Bieber fans expressed anticipation and excitement about the heartthrob’s new Complex cover story. Many noted the Canadian’s previous cover with the magazine, which was titled “Justin Bieber: Second Round KO (2012 Cover Story).”
you finna get beat again? @justinbieber pic.twitter.com/DBTo60wmpu
— kim (@levinesbieber) July 25, 2015
Justin is literally doing everything he did back in 2012 but in a better way
— Eion Clarke (@imstilkidrauhl) July 25, 2015
Justin’s doing a new @ComplexMag shoot but who remembers this one? pic.twitter.com/9AKJShN6WG
— Justin Bieber Babes (@belieberbabes) July 25, 2015
His last Complex cover shoot was I’m excited pic.twitter.com/KOJUXIyC3B
— ️ (@naturalIy) July 25, 2015
when you thought he was finally giving us music, but he’s actually giving us a dope photoshoot with complex mag pic.twitter.com/LJT7bZtlaV
— jordan (@biebsuschrist) July 25, 2015
His first complex mag shoot is one of my all time favs.. Super pumped rn!!!
— Bobbi (@bjam08) July 25, 2015
It was published a couple of weeks after Bieber turned 18 (on March 1) and three months before his Believe album dropped. One of the spread’s big draws was a faux-boxing photo shoot featuring the bloodied up singer.
Fast forward to 2015, the article reads like a time-capsule moment, with the knowledge of what was to come foreshadowing every line. But, on a more positive note, Bieber is also approaching eight months of major incident-free behavior amid an evident refocusing on his Christian roots and a hit single with Jack U’s Skrillex and Diplo.
HollywoodFix ran candid pics and footage of Bieber, Rapaport, and Collins shooting hoops and chatting on the basketball set. The site also posted a video which showed the (mostly) futile attempts of the singer’s bodyguards to conceal the photo shoot from paparazzi.
Filming took place in a parking lot in West Hollywood. Ahead of Complex’s Bieber cover story — which looks like it will be a hoot — take a look at the clip below.
[Images via Splash News]