[Intro ] I learned to fight with crayons, traded lullabies for streetlights, Sandbox scars, scraped palms, neon nights and porchlight fights. First person on the mic — my chest, my past, my song, From kindergarten to grown, we held fast, we held on. [Verse 1] I learned to swing with chalk lines, traded nap-time for night climbs, Backpack straps, blacktop maps, little kings with reckless rhymes. We sold mixtapes out the trunk, cassette hiss, corner-store glow, Ran from curfew, ran to trouble, ran to everything we thought we know. Bar stools, busted knuckles, laughter masking how we’re heavy, My best mate got wasted, lunged, bit my pride — then we hugged like it was steady. I patched a lip with a cigarette wrapper, grin split, the bond tighter, Cursed the cops, praised the moon, prayed to the amp, the mic, the lighter. I watched some brothers fold — some gone like last night’s chorus, Others turned cold, ghosted calls like I was buried under stories in their drawers. Weddings passed, birthdays slid — an RSVP that never came, Maybe I’m the new me, maybe I burned bridges when I stoked that flame. But I keep my record spinning, keep my rhymes tuned to the truth, Music’s the rope that dragged me back from the gutter of my youth. [Pre-Chorus ] I ain’t perfect, I was reckless, left scars I gotta mend, Calling out apologies, putting pride in the passenger’s end. Grown life pulls people different, distance cuts like a knife, But when the beat drops, I still hear the echo of our life. [Chorus ] Brotherhood nights — I bled, I stayed (I stayed) Brotherhood nights — I fought, then I forgave (I forgave) Brotherhood nights — we kept the light (we kept the light) Brotherhood nights — we bruise, we ride (we ride) [Verse 2] I remember Joey’s laugh, Dex’s jacket, T’s busted hat brim, Polaroids of reckless grins, beer on the stairs, a mixtape hymn. We ran fast in beat-up sneaks, dreams heavier than winter coats, Carved names into park benches, traded secrets for each other’s notes. Scar on my knuckle from a fight at three A.M. over nothing, We stumbled, we fell, then patched it up with jokes and borrowed cunning. Phones went silent, letters stayed drafts, the city rearranged, Sober mornings came in waves, but the nights still hit the same range. If MTV had filmed our chaos, they’d monetize our mistakes, But no camera caught the quiet — the apologies, the breaks. I float through photos, float through faces, some frames feel like frost, I owe amends to the lost and living, count what we paid and what it cost. Music kept us stitched through seams that should’ve split apart, I spit these lines like stitches, sewing up the map of my heart. [Pre-Chorus — Variation] Maybe I disrespected when I was a mess, I admit it in the dark, Maybe time pulled scarves over friendships, maybe we outgrew the park. Either way I hold the rhythm — the tape, the hum, the fight, When the chorus hits, I remember who showed up at my side. [Chorus ] Brotherhood nights — I bled, I stayed (I