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Title: Hardened Fast
*(Intro – Spoken, deep voice)*
Yeah… streets don’t wait for nobody…
Either you learn quick… or you break quick…
Listen.
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(Verse 1)
Born innocent, but the city don’t care,
Learned to fight for respect, breathe in that dirty air,
Saw a friend lose his life over pride in a stare,
Now I’m numb to the pain, can’t shed no tear.
Money over morals, that’s the code they preach,
Short tempers, long clips, lessons they teach,
I was soft once, had a heart on my sleeve,
But betrayal made me cold, now I barely believe.
I’m runnin’ through these nights like the sun won’t rise,
Dreams in a coffin, truth wrapped in lies,
They told me “keep pushin’, don’t ever look back,”
So I built up walls, heart turned black.
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(Hook – Chant style)
Immoral ways… hardenin’ me out fast,
Can’t feel love, only shadows from the past,
Lost in the hustle, how long will it last?
World made of stone, and I’m hardenin’ fast.
(Hard! Fast!)
I’m hardenin’ fast.
(Hard! Fast!)
I’m hardenin’ fast.
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(Verse 2)
Used to flinch at the sound of the sirens cry,
Now I barely blink when another soul dies,
Desensitized, yeah, it’s survival mode,
Can’t trust a soul, everybody’ll explode.
Little kids with big guns, role models gone,
Old heads shake their heads, sayin’, “World’s done wrong,”
But who gon’ save us? Nobody in sight,
So we grit our teeth, gear up for the fight.
Felt my humanity slippin’ in my veins,
What was once sunshine’s just thunder and rain,
But I ain’t choose this, it chose me first,
And the only way to live here’s to conquer the worst.
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(Hook – Chant style)
Immoral ways… hardenin’ me out fast,
Can’t feel love, only shadows from the past,
Lost in the hustle, how long will it last?
World made of stone, and I’m hardenin’ fast.
(Hard! Fast!)
I’m hardenin’ fast.
(Hard! Fast!)
I’m hardenin’ fast.
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(Bridge – Reflective, slower flow)
Is there still a way back? Or am I too far?
Staring in the mirror, don’t know who you are,
Used to have a smile, now it’s gone, erased,
Another product of this cold, dark place.
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(Verse 3 – Intense)
So I keep my circle tight like prison gates,
Loyalty’s rare, everybody’s two-faced,
But I won’t fold, I’ve been forged in pain,
I’m the storm in the desert, the fire in the rain.
Heart of steel, nerves of stone, that’s my creed,
When the world takes your soul, you do what you need,
But I wonder at night, when the silence attacks,
Will I find my way out, or is there no turnin’ back?
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(Hook – Final)
Immoral ways… hardenin’ me out fast,
Can’t feel love, only shadows from the past,
Lost in the hustle, how long will it last?
World made of stone, and I’m hardenin’ fast.
(Hard! Fast!)
I’m hardenin’ fast.
(Hard! Fast!)
I’m hardenin’ fast.
*(Outro – Spoken)*
Yeah… city of sinners…
It don’t change you slow…
It changes you fast
