[Intro]
(Rusty stairs, 3 AM breath)
Turn the page, feel the bass—watch the skyline sketch
Beat hums like a heart on the stoop, city steam in my chest
Low lights, pay stub folded, dreams pressed in my vest
[Verse 1 — Origin]
Rusted stoop at 3 AM, sneakers scuff the cold concrete,
Mama dial tone static, lights blinkin' in the meat-packer street.
Pay stub folded in my pocket, lunch ticket, two-dollar hope,
Clock ticks like a metronome while I'm learnin' how to cope.
Cold breath, subway steam, headphones drownin' out the doubt,
Freestyle on a bench, coughed-up rhymes, I figured the route.
Neighbors slam doors like the world tryin' to keep me small,
But the alley's got ears—I spit truth and watched the echoes call.
Short line—punch: I hustled where the light was scarce,
Long line—describe: neon reflections braided with my prayer.
Internal rhyme thread, syllables hit, the cadence is my map,
I stitched my name into the night, taught my heartbeat how to rap.
[Pre-Chorus]
One mic, one verse, one breath before a choice,
Voices in the room said "calm down," mine said "use your voice."
[Chorus — Hook]
Rise & Roar (rise—roar!),
Rise & Roar (call it back, call it more),
Pause — let the beat breathe, crowd answer with the floor.
Rise & Roar (hey!)
[Verse 2 — Turning Point / Skills]
First open-mic—two lights, one buzz, my palms read like maps,
I spit pay-stub poems, turned scraps into raps.
Started with a mentor on a night shift, silver bowl of ramen,
He said "craft your pain into pattern, make the hard lines handsome."
I practiced multis on the bus, internal rhyme like scaffolding,
Built cadence from the clack of rails, hooks that get you noddin'.
Got a beat from a kid with a laptop and a louder dream,
We chopped midnight into choruses, sold doubt by the seam.
Studio light—sweat, smoke, a verse earns a check,
I kept the stoop in my voice, added a skyline to the neck.
Short line—punch: I learned to flip the script,
Long line—praise: turned the script into a manuscript.
[Pre-Chorus — Call]
You feel that? The room leans in.
Say it back—it's ours to win.
[Chorus — Hook]
Rise & Roar (rise—roar!),
Rise & Roar (hands up—more!),
Leave space for the ad-libs, for the echo on the floor.
Rise & Roar (hey!)
[Bridge — Doubt Moment]
There was a night the lights went out—contract lost, voice cracked,
Ex called, roof leaked, my resolve almost packed.
I watched old footage of my first verse, shaky but sincere,
Asked myself if the fight was mine or if I borrowed fear.
Silence pressed like winter, every plan felt thin,
I tasted the old doubt: "Maybe you can't win."
But then a kid on the train mouthed my line—eyes lit like a flare,
I saw the mirror of my younger self and remembered why I care.
Short line—punch: fear tried to mute my core.
Long line—flip: the same fear taught me how to roar.
[Chorus — Reprise (Triumphant)]
Now Rise & Roar (rise—roar!),
Now Rise & Roar (we own the score!),
From subway steam to city beams—we're knockin' on the door.
Rise & Roar (hey!)
[Outro
