[Intro]
(Ad-libs: yeah, uh)
5 AM on Marlow, neon spills on cracked bricks
Subway hisses, coffee steam — the city writes my first lines, quick (yeah)
Sirens stitch the skyline, heartbeat under streetlight flicks
City lights echo — this beat's my guide, watch me flip the script
[Verse 1]
Corner store clock clicks, pockets light but pockets full of plans
Paper cup trembles, palm reads the map of calloused hands
Ticket stub dreams tucked behind a ringtone from last night's jams
Pavement's a playlist — vinyl cracks, beats born from quicksand
I lace my story tight: gum wrappers, subway breath, chain-link frames
Neon halo halos my name, every step a line in my lane
Mama said grind soft, grind smart — keep your aim, dodge the rain
So I rap receipts of morning hustle, fold the pain into flame
Internal rhyme, steady time: I spit chrome on cracked chrome
Deliver truth in tight loops — heartbeat snare, metronome
Punchlines like streetlights — they flicker then become home
I turned curbside corners to stages where my sentences roam (uh)
[Pre-Chorus]
Hold up — this city taught me to sharpen my sight
From dusk 'til the dawn, we turn small losses into light (yeah)
Hands on the wheel, hands on the mic, keep the fight polite
City lights echo — follow the pulse, follow the night
[Chorus]
City lights echo — this beat's my guide (echo)
Roads whisper back every move I write (back)
City lights echo — this beat's my guide (guide)
I rise where the neon meets the night (rise)
(Ad-libs: echo, yeah, let it ride)
[Verse 2]
Late cipher on Fulton, cyphers spin like subway cars
Graffiti notes, tag my verse — love letters to broken stars
I counted coin jars and scarred bars, turned them into bars
Said the skyline's a jury, I plead my case via guitars (metaphor)
Got a sister learning law, got a neighbor with two jobs
We trade small victories like stamps on battered catalogs
I used to waste time on could'ves — now I craft how and why
Tight snaps, trap hats, hustle maps — watch me pivot and fly
Rhyme schemes fold like origami — precise and unexpected
I land lines with hammer-soft hits; every doubt gets deflected
Clever bends, internal friends — syllables connected
From corner whispers to crowd shouts, my anthem's resurrected (uh)
[Pre-Chorus]
Hold up — I sharpen the lines till they sparkle and bite
From basement demos to bright shows under marquee lights
We take the nights, stake the claims, make the wrongs right
City lights echo — keep your heart tuned to the fight
[Chorus]
City lights echo — this beat's my guide (echo)
Roads whisper back every move I write (back)
City lights echo — this beat's my guide (guide)
I rise where the neon meets the night (rise)
(Ad-libs: yeah, come on, echo)
[Bridge]
(Beat drops — sparse)
Silent crosswalk — breathe in, breathe out slow (whoa)
I watch my shadow grow long where the street lamps glow
Switch the lens: where I was small, I now show how I know
That every skipped heartbeat taught rhythm, taught flow
(Call-and-response)
You: Where'd you,
