(Intro)
Sat on the stoop 'til dawn, counting breaths and dreams,
Sidewalk sermons, mama warned about quick schemes.
City hum in my chest, heartbeat like a drum line,
Paper cups, late buses, hustle mapped out in rhyme.
(Verse 1)
Stayed on the stoop 'til dawn, counting breaths and dreams, (one)
Grandma said 'son, keep your seams stitched, don't split the team.'
Lost a nine-to-five, punch clock, they closed the door, (two)
Turned the spare change to a mic — now I'm building more. (three)
Midnight boards, busted cables, late-night studio buzz, (four)
From the stoop to the booth, I proved my truth because— (five)
Street corner prophets, curbside radio static, (six)
Paper routes to paper clout, turned panic into practice. (seven)
Mama's phone call warned of shortcuts and quick fixes, (eight)
Daddy worked two jobs, said 'son, respect the bricks, kid.' (nine)
Haters at the stoop said 'son, that's just talk,' (ten)
I stayed after curfew, wrote bars while the block walked. (eleven)
Every scar a syllable, every fall a fact I keep, (twelve)
From late paychecks to lay tracks, now the crowd's knee-deep. (thirteen)
Stoops to stages, neon pages, nights turned to flight, (fourteen)
Stayed grounded in the grind, now I'm owning the night. (fifteen)
(Quick ad-lib) Uh — keep pushin', keep pushin', keep pushin'— (sixteen)
(Pre-Chorus) [half-time]
Quiet before the drum drop, inhale, steady the sight,
Counting losses as lessons, make the wounds weld the fight.
(Chorus)
Ride the rhythm, own the night. (x2)
Ride the rhythm, own the night — watch me light. (tag)
(Verse 2)
Clock hands cutting corners, I'm carving out my cadence, (one)
Internal rhymes like ricochet, double-time patience. (two)
From block-corner gospel to headphones in the subway, (three)
I barter sleep for heat, keep the tape on replay. (four)
Mama said 'don't change for coin, don't fold your sound,' (five)
So I turned down a paper offer that wanted me to drown. (six)
They priced my pain in pennies — I laughed, I pushed back, (seven)
Said 'I won't mute my message just to match your track.' (eight)
Stitch lines with multi-syllable hooks, snap the cadence tight, (nine)
From stoop confessions to spotlight sessions at night. (ten)
Internal hits, syncopated spit, watch the rhythm glitch, (eleven)
808 boom, boom-snare snap — heart surplus, never switch. (twelve)
Ad-libs: (yeah) — corners to corridors, doors open low, (thirteen)
Ad-libs: (uh) — turned the 'no' into notes, let the courage grow. (fourteen)
This is sixteen bars of hustle, every line a fight, (fifteen)
Keep the chorus in my chest: ride the rhythm, own the night. (sixteen)
(Pre-Chorus) [build]
Heartbeat half-time, then we accelerate, sight to sound,
Small room, big dreams — feel the pressure break the ground.
(Chorus)
Ride the rhythm, own the night. (x3)
Ride the rhythm, own the night — watch me light. (tag)
(Bridge) [narrative twist]
They called with fast money, clean cut, paint-over my name,
Said 'lose the edges, play safe, we'll give you fame'
