[Production cues: Tempo ~100–105 BPM. Highlife guitar licks, warm electric guitar, light brass stabs, shaker/clave groove, layered backing vocals on chorus. Intimate lead African male vocal with grit; vocals sit slightly forward.]
[Intro]
Yeah — ah! Hustle, hustle
Okada engines hum, suya smoke in the night
Hustle, hustle — rise up, make it right
[Verse 1]
Market wake at dawn, cardboard stalls and bright tarps
Keke zips, bread man calls, life paints its marks
Mama folds kente in the corner, sun on her braid
Power cut at dusk, we light a lamp, keep the trade
I ride the backstreet with my dreams in the cradle
Rain on corrugated roofs, still I’m willing and able
If you sit down waiting, your chance will roll away
The city don’t owe you mercy — it asks you to play
[Pre-Chorus]
Heart on the hustle, feet on the ground
Every small move makes a bigger sound
Time don’t pause, and the night will test ya
Stand up, young man, let courage bless ya
[Chorus / Hook]
No one’s gonna save you — boy, you gotta rise
Hustle with your hands, hustle with your pride
Sweep your dawn with sweat, watch the dark subside
Hustle till your story turns to gold
[Verse 2]
Saw Baba selling kola, pocket turned to hope
Mama’s radio at dawn taught me how to cope
Small shop light burning when the rain comes down
He counts the coins slow, keeps the future from drown
I learned to mend a speaker, fix a broken wire
Turn small change into flame, fuel my own fire
No savior in the alley, only lessons and names
So I tie my laces tight and step into the game
[Pre-Chorus]
Heart on the hustle, feet on the ground
Every small move makes a bigger sound
Time don’t pause, and the night will test ya
Stand up, young man, let courage bless ya
[Chorus — Variation]
No one’s gonna save you — now watch how you rise
Your hands build bridges, your children know your name
From keke to storefronts, from street to brighter lanes
Hustle and you’ll dance in the sun you stole
[Bridge]
Every sweat bead planted is a seed for tomorrow
Every late night struggle — a lesson, not sorrow
No shame in the grind, you carve your own crown
Step by step, man, you turn the city around
[Rap / Spoken Bridge]
I sold airtime by the lamp when lights would fail,
Rode okada through the rain with bread in my mail,
Fixed generators when the neighborhood went dim,
Sewn kente, folded hopes, kept faith in the brim.
Carried crates to the market, counted coins on the mat,
Learned a little code at night, now I’m closing the gap.
From Makola stalls to Marina shores I roam,
Every small hustle taught me how to build a home.
[Final Chorus / Big Hook]
No one’s gonna save you — boy, you gotta rise
Hustle with your hands, hustle with your pride
Sweep your dawn with sweat, watch the dark subside
Hustle till your story turns to gold
[Outro / Ad-libs]
Keep the fire, keep the light — ahh
From suya smoke to sunrise bright — yeah
Hustle with heart, hold your ground
One day your name will ring through the town
[Performance notes: bring layered call
