[Intro]
(Ad-lib: Yeah—yeah—listen)
Neon humming, rain on the pavement — pulse like a heartbeat
Cold subway bench, cracked sneaker, city teaching me to keep the heat (uh)
[Verse 1]
I was born where the streetlight flickers, where the late trains sigh
Ticket stub dreams, cheap coffee steam, watchin' burners pass by
Mama said fold your coat tighter, winter's a math test on your chest
I learned to count my losses, trade 'em for lessons — now I'm dressed
In scars that glitter like cheap chrome, every mark tells a route
From Alphabet City corners to the block where the lights go out
I scrape rhythms off gutters, spit diamonds from dust
Multi-syllable hustle, every breath a must
Short bars, long runs — cadence like a driven drum
One foot on the curb, other foot on where I come from
(Ad-lib: Let's go)
[Pre-Chorus]
I breathe neon into lines, I make midnight give a name
Hands in my pockets of faith — I turn the cold into a flame
Build the beat, then ascend — sound the bell, light the fuse
We climb better in crowds; we move when the streetlight grooves
[Chorus]
We rise from the ground — never touchin' down
Crownless kings, we built this town
(Ad-libs: Built it! — Uh — never touchin' down)
[Verse 2]
Remember cracked subway tiles, graffiti that tasted of thunder
A barstool confessions — old man teachin' patience, not wonder
I traded lullabies for siren lull, learned to read the skyline
Seen lovers leave with suitcases, and losers leave with pride
I keep a Polaroid of midnight on my dashboard, edges bent
A map of all the alleys where my promises were spent
But I lace these stories into bars — shoelaces tied with grit
I'm a streetlight igniter, every night I'm a lit misfit
Internal rhymes climb like vines on tenement brick
I flip the script quick — short spit, then a long sick lick
(Ad-lib: Ha — feel that?)
[Pre-Chorus — Build]
Count the echoes in the tunnel, count the coins in your shout
Feel the weight of the silence — we're the thunder breaking out
Step closer to the chorus, let the preheat become sound
One breath, then the drop — watch the lost get found
[Chorus — Variation]
We rise from the ground — never touchin' down
Crownless kings, we run this town
(Ad-libs: Run it! — Uh — crownless)
[Bridge — flip to you]
You — remember nights you thought the light would never bend?
You — the one who stitched your wounds and learned to mend
Don't say “no chains” — say “I rewired my cage,” that's the verb
Turn the lock into a ladder, make your silence be heard
Consequences became capitals — debts turned into deeds
You pay in courage now, you plant tomorrow's seeds
(Ad-lib/Call-and-response)
Lead: You took the blows — Response: I took 'em
Lead: You made a home — Response: I built 'em
[Verse 3 — Short & Punch]
Neon sign buzz — buzz — I hustle in the half-light
Cracked sneaker sprint, two-step out of last night's fight
Rain on my hood like applause, city hums my name
No paper crown, but I own the pavement — that's the game
[Pre-Chorus — Final]
Now the sound's
