Ummmm am I the only one who did NOT know this? I can’t be. I just can’t believe I’m that out of touch and in the dark.

Assuming I’m not, it’s sort of unforgivable in and of itself that we all sort of just went with the flow and started using “stan” as a common noun and as a verb. We all started saying things like “I stan (ATHLETE OR MUSICIAN X) hard” and “I’m sick of (ATHLETE OR MUSICIAN Y) stans they’re so annoying.” We did this without ANY KNOWLEDGE of where it was coming from and we did it in a day and age where that is capital “D” Dangerrrrrrous. We could of been #MeToo”d or #Cancelled or #ImWithHer’d or something along those lines without ever being any the wiser to what we said wrong. It was a new term that was easy enough to use so hey, fuck it. Let’s give it a whirl.

Come to find out, some fairly savvy individual took it directly from Eminem’s 2000 depiction of the eponymous obsessed, unwavering, and very much unstable fan. A song made famous not only by how very good, albeit dark, it was, but by an all-time VMA performance featuring perceived homophobe Marshall Mathers and Elton John. This is both sort of wild to realize but also a little unnerving to learn, no? I’ve called people “stans” with very little concern probably hundreds of times. Never was I trying to imply they were “a fan of to the point of a graphic murder-suicide”. Kind of overkill (no pun intended) if you ask me. But hey, that’s showbiz, I suppose.

Look, I know people don’t come to this blog to learn. They’re not seeking any kind of knowledge unless knowing where the line in the sand is drawn in terms of the etiquette of serving faux-Mexican fast food counts. However plain and simple I think this is a true blue #themoreyouknow situation where people should fuckin know this. Marshall Bruce Mathers III is a Lexicon King as well as a Rap God.

If you disagree? Well hit me back, just to chat.

-Joey B.