[Intro]
Three AM, kitchen light flicks, winter on the window sash,
Folded bills in my palm, pocket lint and a busted past.
Breath fog on the glass, street hum like a metronome,
I count scars as currency, this city made me bone to bone.
[Verse 1]
Room 412, fluorescent hiss, rent due, fridge on its last breath,
Mama sleeping on the couch, I'm stitched to fear like a safety net.
Concrete sermons, alley whispers, names scratched on a church bench,
I traded gold dreams for grit grams, learned my lines in a search trench.
Three AM confessional—knife scar on the knuckle from '09,
Bar fight, bad light, badge flash, learned rhythm from the grind.
Ledger lines of regret, multi-syllable checks — I flip 'em to rhymes,
They told me stay quiet, so I sharpened silence into signs.
[Pre-Chorus]
Every whisper's pressure, every doubt's a drum I step on,
Carry nights like medals, every loss taught me how to prep on.
Hold the flame in your palm, let the ember answer the call,
In the cracks of the pavement, find the pulse, rebuild the wall.
[Chorus / Hook]
I rise again—lights cut, I light the match, break the chain,
I rise again—cold nights, warm fight, blood to flame.
Say my name over rubble, say it loud in the pain,
I rise again—one breath, one step, out the rain. (repeat)
[Verse 2]
Cab numbers on my phone, booth light, burner past midnight,
Debt collectors, alley preachers, neon gods, no respite.
Subway platform—cold breath, a kid without a coat said, "You look like hope,"
I almost froze, then wrote a verse on a napkin, sold it to the scope.
Punchlines like pocket flips—turned bottles into rockets, rocket lifts,
I stitch hustle to the hem of hope, hemstitched with quick-witted gifts.
Enjambed confessions split across bars — I never stop the sentence,
Internal rhymes like heartbeat lines, syncopated with the tense breath.
[Pre-Chorus]
Every whisper's pressure, every doubt's a drum I step on,
Carry nights like medals, every loss taught me how to prep on.
Hold the flame in your palm, let the ember answer the call,
In the cracks of the pavement, find the pulse, rebuild the wall.
[Chorus / Hook]
I rise again—lights cut, I light the match, break the chain,
I rise again—cold nights, warm fight, blood to flame.
Say my name over rubble, say it loud in the pain,
I rise again—one breath, one step, out the rain. (repeat)
[Bridge — Grit & Scene]
Night shift, 2AM diner, coffee black, receipt crumpled like a map,
I circled where I failed, bookmarked every midnight trap.
Paper trail: busted credit, busted confidence, busted pride,
But I learned to worship bruise scars—call them medals I can hide.
Memory lane's potholes: ex-lover's voicemail, court dates, missed plays,
Victory tastes like stale fries at sunrise after too many lost days.
[Double-Time — Rapid 8 Bars]
(Quick) I'm sprintin', pen spittin', split-second decisions, I'm quittin' the fiction,
(Quick) Heart drum, fast thumb on the map, stab static, slash addiction,
(Quick) Clock ticks, block flips, shock hits—stocked
