(beat folds in — snare, subway hiss)
late night on 5th & pine, i still taste the grease, the neon wine
echoes on the stoop, footsteps sync to the rhyme
this one’s for the ones who stayed, the ones we lost in time
i was ten at the bodega, watching dice and daylight fade,
mama burned coffee, told me prayers before she prayed, i stayed.
corner vendor screamed the night in garlic smoke and hot pretzels,
sirens braided with laughter — a soundtrack for our vessels.
marco sold mixtapes under flicker from the lamp-post sign,
one wrong step—october—he didn’t make the next line.
i held his jacket while the rain pulled the ink from his name,
swore then on that curb my life would never be the same.
i sharpened syllables like knives, clipped doubt at the seam,
turned cold nights into verses, stitched hope into a dream.
two pockets of change, one beat and a stubborn grin,
i learned to make the city listen — breathe me in.
remember my echo on 5th — remember my name
we turn our scars into flame — remember my name
(anchor: remember my name)
now the rooftop views come with glare from new glass towers,
but i still hear the fryer hiss, the rhythm of late hours.
record deals and lobby lights, but loyalty’s the test,
every contract has a clause, every win rehearses stress.
i write marco in the margins, his laugh is in my flow,
when a crowd chants my bar, i feel both pride and hollow.
escalation’s not just louder beats, it’s quieter ghosts,
now i split a check with the block — keep feeding the folks.
we build a choir outta scraps, harmonize the pain,
from basement cyphers to stadiums, we multiply the rain.
hands that once clutched pennies now sign for the stage,
but sundays at the lot, we still trade lines like wage.
remember my echo on 5th — remember my name!
we turn our scars into flame — remember my name!
(repeat, call-and-response: "say my name —")
confession: sometimes i fold—when the night bruises thin,
i taste marco’s cigarette smoke in the dent of my grin.
ambition’s a mural peeling at the corners when it rains,
but i repaint with heartbeats, outline my refrains.
this city taught me barter—trade fear for a line,
trade shame for a rhyme — trade loss for time.
remember my echo on 5th — remember my name!
we turn our scars into flame — remember my name!
(beat drops hard — ad-libs: "yeah, oh—remember—")
remember my echo on 5th — remember my name!
we turn our scars into flame — remember my name!
(vocal switch: whisper then shout — "remember my name!")
subway grinds, late-night winds, the corner keeps its tales,
stamp my story on the block — every alley knows my trails.
echo on 5th, that short breath before the dawn,
we rise not to forget— but so the memory carries on.
(leave space for ad-libs, a beat fade, call-and-response echo)
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