OG Stan - JohnnieB

Lyrics

( Johnnie B On The Beat ) Dear Slim I ain’t writing this to cry, I’m writing this to show you what it did I was just a little kid with a hard start, and your music really hit Adopted to a new life, found a new fight, found a pen and let it live And every time I heard them speakers blow, it felt like somebody finally understood the shit Then I picked up the pad Started writing every thought I had And since I’m white and I rap, they instantly boxed me in that bag Compared me to you off rip like that was all I’d ever have That’s funny, like saying one look tells a whole damn story of a man But I never came to swing a cheap shot like some weak-ass bitter attack I came to build my own lane from the influence and still give credit back So even if you ever spoke my name, I wouldn’t break and I wouldn’t crack I already know what it feel like to live in a giant shadow and still adapt Take me back to school, I had that underdog hunger, that B-Rabbit type of attack Another white boy with a dream and a mic, and yeah, I heard all of that They said “you won’t make it,” “you just a fan,” “you just another copycat” But names don’t define me, they just remind me what the outside see at first glance I knew every verse on the wall by heart, but I still had to grow past that Not to erase the inspiration — just to prove I’m my own man on the track So if they call me Stan, I smile, because they helped create that path But JohnnieB ain’t stuck in obsession, I evolved and made it bigger than that I’m the OG Stan, yeah, I paid my dues. Learned from the greats, then I found my own view. I’m the OG Stan, but I ain’t you. JohnnieB built his own path straight through. I’m the OG Stan, yeah, I knew those tracks. Every verse, every bar, every classic fact. I’m the OG Stan, but I still stand back. Pay respect to the roots while I build my own branch. It’s like the comparison game turned to a lemon, so I squeezed it into gold They keep calling me your son, your echo, your clone, like that’s all the story told Keep calling me a Stan, keep calling me you, keep saying I fit that mold But if I’m the product of a Rap God’s lane, then I still made my own soul If I’m your descendant in the art, then cool, I’ll wear Rap Jesus with pride Better to come from something legendary than fake like I got nothin’ to derive But I’m not you, and I’m not anybody else, that’s where the real line lie I’m JohnnieB, whole spectrum in the flesh, with my own split mind inside Yeah, some days they hear the influence heavy Some days they hear the hunger in me Some days they hear that sharp-edge pen and say I sound too damn ready But that still don’t mean I’m you — it mean your music reached me and fed me I took the lessons, kept the blessing, then I built my own identity So I ain’t some Walmart version, I’m a full-grown voice with a different energy I got Stan in the loyalty, Shady in the guts, and JohnnieB in the center piece That’s why the whole thing hit different — fan, artist, fighter, all in one entity You might say we ain’t alike, and honestly, that’s what I’d want you to say Because it’s about time somebody saw the difference and let me stand in my own name I can appreciate the roots and still grow branches that don’t look the same So call me OG Stan if you want — just know I took that label and made it my own lane I’m the OG Stan, yeah, I paid my dues. Learned from the greats, then I found my own view. I’m the OG Stan, but I ain’t you. JohnnieB built his own path straight through. I’m the OG Stan, yeah, I knew those tracks. Every verse, every bar, every classic fact. I’m the OG Stan, but I still stand back. Pay respect to the roots while I build my own branch.