Middle Class - JohnnieB

Lyrics

(Johnnie B On The Beat) Well I guess I’m that middle class, aye Like I got just enough, but not enough to really brag, okay Not rich enough to coast, not broke enough to make ’em care, anyway Just raised where the bills got paid, but the pressure stayed Look at him, he balanced both, I bet he came up too strange Got one foot in the driveway, one foot tryna break out the frame Life ain’t all bad, but it sure as hell ain’t easy either Had to learn how to stretch one check and still make room for a dream, believer Middle lane, middle pain, middle child to the system’s gaze Too clean for the chaos, too raw for the polished page Not poor enough for pity, not rich enough to buy escape So I built a voice from the in-between and let that motherfucker resonate Came from cut grass, back roads, porch lights, and some hard-ass days Where you learn how to smile through stress and still show up anyway Ain’t no silver spoon in my mouth, just truth in my teeth when I speak And a mind full of pressure, pride, and hunger that don’t let me sleep So if I sound like both sides talk through me, that’s because they do I’m middle class, motherfucker — I’m the bridge with a point of view He’s middle class. He’s middle class. He knows about balance. He’s middle class, middle class. Just surviving the challenge. He’s middle class, middle class. Not too much, not abandoned. He’s middle class, middle class. Just living… not stranded. I can’t lie about this, I feel the balance deep in my skin Not the top, not the bottom, just the place where both worlds blend I know what it means to have enough, but still feel one bad month could end it Know what it means to act okay while stress keep knockin’ at the engine Had to watch everybody flex while I was just tryna hold my frame Some was born into comfort, some was born into survival mode and pain Me, I learned the middle ground — where you fight, but still stay sane Where you got a roof and a bill due too, and both can drive you damn near insane I seen fake rich, fake poor, fake street, fake struggle for the trend I was too busy makin’ somethin’ real from the lane I really live in Not everybody trap-talked, not everybody had a trust fund grin Some of us was just stuck in between, tryna hold the house and hold ourselves within That’s why I rap like this — half reflection, half resistance Half “I know exactly where I’m from,” half “I’m bigger than the box they givin’” So keep the labels, keep the gimmicks, keep the fake shit y’all defend I’m middle class — that means I know both lack and discipline I know how to want more without forgettin’ where the hell I been And I can turn that into bars so the whole damn room can feel it sink in So what did you expect from this middle-class kid with a pen? I made the in-between sound bigger than the ends He’s middle class. He’s middle class. He knows about balance. He’s middle class, middle class. Just surviving the challenge. He’s middle class, middle class. Not too much, not abandoned. He’s middle class, middle class. Just living… not stranded.