Intro (Sample & Beat Drop)
[A minor-key piano loop, hollow 808, fast hats. Reversed piano swell before drop.]
M'ani nna hɔ — the city never sleeps. (yeah)
Only bright lights, but the shadows run deep. (deep)
City lights, cold nights — heavy is the crown. (ad-lib)
Verse 1
[Slow, deliberate flow, punchy on the snare]
Success a target — hit it, they laze and stare.
Old friends fade out, new faces in the square.
Remember last fufu, spoons clinking at midnight,
Steam on the air, laughter soft under streetlight.
They see the car keys, see the chains that shine,
Don't see the midnight scars, the nights I lost time.
We built from empty pockets, frɛ me 'boss', no lie.
If loyalty's a choice, my day-one never slide.
This road is long and lonely — I walked it solo.
Turned a cold shoulder to the faces that I know. (know)
Pre-Chorus
[Faint pad builds]
Kejetia to the corner, the cold wind talks my name.
Every headline brings heat, but the nights stay the same.
Chorus (Melodic Hook, Auto-Tune texture)
City lights, cold nights — heavy is the crown.
City lights, cold nights — heavy is the crown.
They see the glory, not the price — every check just leaves a mark.
Who got my back when the street talk stops and the city gets dark?
City lights, cold nights — heavy is the crown. (tag repeat)
Verse 2
[Faster, aggressive flow, sharp internal rhyme]
They call Asakaa noise, but we speak in code and drum,
Street scripture, sermon in the alley where we come from.
Look at the system holding hands with the clocks that cheat,
Young kings rising, foot on the pedal, never face defeat.
Money changed the jacket, not the roots or the rhythm,
Still respect OGs, still fold hands and pray with given wisdom.
Mempɛ 'gyama' — I don't want trouble, but clash if pushed.
Protect the legacy like iron, every name I hush.
I carry Kumerica, Kumasi stamped on my back,
Headlines feed the fire — I keep the map intact. (intact)
Chorus (Climactic, full-voiced chant)
City lights, cold nights — heavy is the crown.
City lights, cold nights — heavy is the crown.
They see the glory, not the price — every check just leaves a mark.
Who got my back when the street talk stops and the city gets dark?
City lights, cold nights — heavy is the crown. (repeat tag)
Bridge (Atmospheric, spoken-word; one concrete anecdote)
[Stripped beat, piano single-note]
Mama folded shirts at dawn, the lamp still warm and low.
She said, "Son, keep your hunger — turn your pain to the show." (show)
I slept on cardboard, radio glow, dreams in a drawer.
Now they chant my name on corners where I used to knock on doors.
Fame is a prison, hidden in the crowd's glare,
They shout my sound, but who hears the prayers I bear? (bear)
Chorus (Final, full chant plus ad-libs)
City lights, cold nights — heavy is the crown. (heavy is the crown)
City lights, cold nights — heavy is the crown. (city lights)
They see the glory, not the price — every check just leaves a mark.
Who got my back when the street talk stops and the city gets dark?
City lights, cold nights — heavy is
