We Are

"We Are" — Justin Bieber Featuring Nas

A Holiday Season Charity Single

The closing weeks of 2015 were a remarkable period for Justin Bieber commercially. His album Purpose, released in November of that year, had already yielded multiple chart-topping singles and confirmed his transition from teenage pop idol to a more mature and versatile pop artist. Against this backdrop of commercial dominance, he released "We Are," a charity single recorded in collaboration with Nas, the New York rapper whose debut album Illmatic remains one of the most acclaimed records in hip-hop history. The combination of a pop superstar at his commercial peak and a hip-hop legend with deep credibility was unusual and generated considerable attention.

"We Are" was created in support of the United Nations Children's Fund and connected to themes of global solidarity and children's welfare. The charitable framing gave the track a different purpose than a standard commercial single, positioning it as a statement of values as much as a commercial release. Proceeds from the track were directed toward the UNICEF campaign, giving listeners a reason to engage with the song beyond its musical qualities.

The Sound and Its Components

The production on "We Are" suited its charitable purpose with an uplifting, anthemic quality. The arrangement leans toward the kind of expansive, inspirational pop sound that charity singles have favored since the mid-1980s model established by records like "We Are the World." Bieber's vocal contribution sits in the melodic pop register he had inhabited throughout Purpose, warm and accessible. Nas's verse brought a different energy, his cadence and lyrical approach a contrast to the track's melodic pop surroundings that generated the kind of genre-blending tension that collaboration between these two artists implied.

The combination of pop accessibility and hip-hop credibility was a deliberate strategic choice, designed to maximize the track's reach across demographic lines. A song that could appeal simultaneously to Bieber's core pop audience and to listeners who came to the track through Nas's presence had the potential to raise both awareness and funds across a broader population than either artist would reach independently.

One Week on the Hot 100

The single debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 on December 5, 2015, entering at number 88. This single-week appearance at number 88 reflected the track's position in a competitive December chart environment. December 2015 was an exceptionally strong period for Bieber commercially, with multiple tracks from Purpose in simultaneous Hot 100 rotation. The chart was crowded with Bieber's own catalog, which meant that any new entry competed not only with other artists but with the artist's own previously released material.

The one-week chart appearance does not diminish the song's cultural purpose or its significance as a document of Bieber's charitable activity during this period. Charity singles often perform modestly on commercial charts precisely because their distribution and promotional strategies are organized around fundraising goals rather than chart performance.

The Bieber-Nas Generational Bridge

The pairing of Bieber and Nas on a single in 2015 was notable for the generational and stylistic distance it spanned. Nas had released Illmatic in 1994, the year Justin Bieber was born. By 2015, Nas had been a foundational figure in hip-hop for more than two decades, while Bieber was at the height of his commercial dominance in global pop. The collaboration brought two entirely different phases and traditions of popular music into contact, united by the charitable cause that motivated the project.

For Bieber, working with Nas represented an ongoing effort to expand his artistic associations beyond the pure pop context in which his career had begun. The Purpose era was characterized by collaborations and production choices that signaled a maturing artistic identity, and the Nas feature was one element in that broader project of identity expansion.

Charity, Commerce, and Pop Sincerity

The tradition of celebrity charity singles has been a feature of popular music since at least the 1980s, and the genre carries with it debates about sincerity, effectiveness, and the relationship between commercial production and charitable purpose. "We Are" entered this tradition with the UNICEF affiliation giving it a clear and established organizational backing, which provided both credibility and a pre-existing infrastructure for turning musical attention into material support.

Whether evaluated primarily as a pop record, as a charitable exercise, or as a document of an unusual cross-generational collaboration, the track occupies a specific and somewhat singular position in both artists' catalogs. For a one-week chart appearance at number 88, it generated a disproportionate amount of cultural conversation, which is precisely what a well-designed charitable collaboration aims to do.

"We Are" — Justin Bieber Featuring Nas's singular moment on the 2010s charts.