[Intro — Spoken, vinyl crackle]
Fuck what you heard, man — this is the real shit. (Ad-libs: yeah, yeah, listen)
[Verse 1]
Concrete nights, taillights stitch the city seam,
Sneakers scuff the rhythm, hustlin' on the dream team.
Stoops hold our names, cassette tape lullabies,
Blueprints on a dash, plotting where the skyline lies.
I went through all that bullshit
But still I stand — breath foggin', plans in my hand.
Late coffee, cold pavement, rooftop oath and chance,
We move like freight at dawn, heavy with advance.
[Pre-Chorus]
Hands up when the streetlight gives us truth,
Keep the ember burnin' through the longest youth.
Hold the ones who never fold, keep their stories close,
Turn the cold to diamonds, make the city diagnose.
[Chorus — Hook]
Real shit, real rise. (Short, punchy — singable)
Real Shit Anthem, feel the fire in our eyes. (chant)
Real shit, real rise.
Real Shit Anthem — we don't fold, we fly.
[Verse 2]
Ain't gotta sell a gram to show what's in my chest,
Windows down, bass thumpin', we be livin' blessed.
No red unless it's neon glowin' in my cup,
God bless those who tried to stop us — couldn't shut us up.
Deal-breakin' kid, sticky notes and concrete plans,
Feel for the cake, stack receipts with callused hands.
Motherfucking stunting, rollin' in the crew-packed ride,
Bump it with the windows down, city choruses collide.
[Bridge — Sparse, intimate]
I went through all that bullshit — but still I stand,
Say it with me loud, let it land in every hand.
Brother, sister, city — gather, take my call,
We carved our names in gutters, now we rise above it all.
[Chorus — Hook Variation]
Real shit, real rise.
Real Shit Anthem, heartbeat of the night.
Real shit, real rise.
Real Shit Anthem — keep the mission in our sight.
[Bridge 2 — Minimal]
Drop the track to nothing, let the voice breathe slow,
Hear the boards creak, the pavement speak in low.
Small lights, big moves, rewrite the city's time,
We grind in minor keys then climb to every rhyme.
[Outro — Call and Response, Building]
We keep pushin' till the last light bends.
We keep pushin' till the block sends friends.
We keep pushin' till the record spins.
Real Shit, Real Rise — we ride till the end. (Ad-libs: yeah — keep goin')
[Verse 3 — The Descent (specifics)]
Night after night, rockstar life, different girls on the line,
VIP, glass raised high, another bottle, another time.
Thirty-pack moves — slangin' weight, pockets hustle for the kick,
Sniff, sniff — a nightly ritual, lungs burnin' for the fix.
Bid after bid — courthouse benches, crowded cells repeat,
Name on ink, a number called, the same cold seat.
Empty crib at dawn, a small pair of shoes on the floor,
Photo taped to a locker — a face I couldn't hold before.
I traded lullabies for club lights, for neon and the spin,
Kept tellin' myself tomorrow, then waking up to sin.
[Short Chorus — Haunted]
Real shit, real fall.
Real nights, real wall.
Real shit, real call.
Real pain, real brawl. (Ad-libs: sniff — feel it)
[Bridge — Turning (
