Long before Justin Bieber would settle down and marry his wife Hailey Baldwin, in 2018, the pop star had built up quite a reputation for his bad behavior after forming close ties with his former best pals, Lil Za and Lil Twist.
The trio was inseparable at one point, with Twist and Za both living in Bieber’s LA mansion — but their get-togethers led to many run-ins with the police, who would later arrest the Biebs for a DUI before raiding his home in the early hours of January 14, 2014.
During the police search, which was brought on in connection with a vandalism case linked to the singer, cops also claimed they had seized drugs in the house — a clear indication that the then-19-year-old superstar was clearly spiraling out of control, and his friends didn’t appear to be a good influence on him either.
And while Bieber was able to get his act together, which made for the ultimate comeback with 2015’s Purpose, what happened to Lil Twist and Lil Za?
Lil Twist And Lil Za
Lil Twist was undoubtedly one of Bieber’s closest friends at one point. The rapper, whose real name is Christopher Moore, was at one point signed to Lil Wayne’s Young Money, and after forming ties with JB, it seemed as if a collaboration between the two was bound to happen sooner or later.
Instead, the two were more occupied partying together as they traveled the world and jetted to endless destinations for tropical vacations before Twist was said to have moved into Bieber’s home in Calabasas, where he was also treated to JB’s luxury vehicles, including his pricey Ferrari.
In 2013, Twist took the vehicle for a spin when a photographer was struck by an oncoming vehicle and died trying to take a picture of who he thought was Bieber being pulled over by cops on a Los Angeles freeway.
When Twist moved down to Calabasas, Bieber was finding himself getting more and more noise complaints from neighbors, who stressed that the rowdiness throughout the day had become unbearable and that the “Sorry” hitmaker and his pals weren’t being cautious of other people in the neighborhood.
By the end of 2014, when Bieber started recording Purpose, fans noticed that Twist was barely spending time with his former BFF, who many believed had been axed out by the singer’s team in an effort to make the Canadian native see that the life he was living was beginning to affect not just his own health but also the livelihood of those around him.
In June 2020, Twist claimed Bieber’s management team asked him to take the heat for the infamous drug charges that came with the house raid in 2014.
During an appearance on the Mina SayWhat podcast, he gushed: "His team had their knee, metaphorically, on my neck for years just so they could keep one side clean. I took that heat. If they would have put weed charges on Justin in his early career.
“It would have been bad on him. So I got a call one day saying, ‘Twist, do you really love this kid?’ I said, ‘Yes.’
“They said, ‘Cool, if you love him then you can take the heat for him because you can come off a little weed charge. You’re associated with Lil Wayne. You’re a rapper.’”
“It got to a point where I didn’t even have to be there at times and they were putting it, ‘Twist did it, Twist did it, Twist did it,’” he added.
And while Twist may no longer be in the picture, Bieber appears to have remained on good terms with Lil Za, who was infamously charged with three felonies in relation to the raid at JB’s mansion.
Despite everything, Za - real name Xavier Smith - who has been close to the Biebs since 2012, still gets a lot of love from Bieber, who often comments on the socialite’s photos on Instagram.
Za also attended Bieber and Baldwin’s wedding, showing clear signs that despite what’s happened in the past, the two have matured from their mistakes.
Over the summer of 2020, Za announced he’s expecting a baby with longtime sweetheart, Atifa Barwany, who held her baby shower back in September.
The couple is also looking to tie the knot, according to what Za had told one fan on Instagram, and when that day comes along, fans shouldn’t be surprised if Bieber makes an appearance.
After all, the pop star is still cool with Za while his friendship with Twist seems to have fizzled out as the years went by.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTErZ%2Bippeoe6S7zGiuoZmkYrWivM%2BepZ6cXam8brbUrKuipl2XtqauxKuqZp6inrKvsNJmo6KkXa%2Bubq3NnWSloZxiwbi10q1m