While Justin Bieber maneuvers his way through one of the more trying times of his short career, he can count on the YMCMB crew to help him through. Mack Maine, president of Young Money, spoke out in defense of Bieber's latest n-word scandal and slammed rumors that the singer is racist.

He squashed the racism theory by pointing out the obvious: most of Bieber's friends are Black. "Bieber does not have a slave mentality," he told TMZ. "He treats his people with respect."

Mack also said that Bieber has "legitimately adopted the culture of the hip hop, African-American culture," and admitted to once making racially insensitive jokes as a youngster himself. "I remember telling a white man, Chinese man, Black man joke as a kid that was terrible and I told it to my friends because I thought they'd think it was funny," recalled the New Orleans native. 

The latest Bieber video was taped five years ago, but posted online Wednesday (June 4). In the clip, Bieber changes the words of his "One Less Lonely Girl" single to "One Less Lonely N----.'" He goes on to sing about joining the KKK and killing Black people. "Then there'll be one less lonely n----a," he gleefully croons.

No matter how young he was at the time, the pop star must still face the backlash for his bad decisions, according to Nick Cannon. "He a thug in all the wrong ways," Cannon joked during his stop by 106 & Park this week.

"We know Justin, he don't mean no harm," the Real Husbands of Hollywood star added. "He don't mean no harm. He was a little kid when all that went down. But you know what? Now, you gotta own up to it."

Bieber reportedly asked TMZ to release the tape to air his own dirty laundry. He hasn't yet apologized like he did after the first recording leaked. In lieu of a new statement, Bieber Instagrammed a Bible verse about strength and forgiveness.

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 (Photos from left: Johnny Nunez/WireImage,  Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images)