[Intro]
(Beat: 95 BPM — sparse piano, deep kick)
Yeah, turn the night up, let's move
(Ad-libs: yeah, come on, rise)
[Verse 1]
Corner store neon, midnight on my breath
Bounced check in my back pocket, rent tag on the next
Worn-out sneaks with frayed laces, pages folded thin
Mama working doubles, daddy's old belt marks on skin
Counting coins in a coffee cup, dreams taped with duct
Subway hiss and city list — every stop I construct
Notes on a napkin, plans under dim streetlight
Plotting bigger flights from the hurt of last night
(Hook echo: rise…)
[Pre-Chorus]
No gloss, no gloss — just grit and graft
Clock hands spinning fast but I learned how to last
Small wins stack like bricks on a stoop
Keep my voice, keep the truth, ear to the roof
[Chorus — Main Hook]
Rise up — this is our hour
(Repeat chantable: Rise up — this is our hour)
[Chorus — Tag/Support]
Through late lights and bounced checks we claim power (yeah)
One breath, one step — turn the minute to a tower
Call and response: "You ready?" "Always." (Always.)
[Verse 2]
Fingers numb on a cold bus, scholarship denied
Sold my watch for gas, slept on cousin's couch that ride
I spit syllables like signals, Morse code for my kin
Every bar a blueprint, every bruise an inked-in win
Neighbors whisper "he won't make it," I answer with a grin
Took a paper route of pain, now I'm stacking dividends
Internal rhyme, iron mind, steady on the grind
Plot lines, deadlines, planting seed where the sun don't shine
(Ad-libs: ha, yeah)
[Chorus — Main Hook]
Rise up — this is our hour
(Repeat chantable: Rise up — this is our hour)
[Chorus — Tag/Support]
Through late lights and bounced checks we claim power
Stand tall, one shot — build the hour from the hour
Call and response: "You in?" "We in." (We in.)
[Bridge — Turning Point]
I left the contract on the table, walked out with my kid's backpack
No suitcase of lies, just a lunchbox and a plan to stack
Sacrifice in daylight: one shift gave up the quick pay
Chose lullabies over fast lies, traded gold for staying
On a rooftop at dawn I traded doubt for the skyline
The city gave me back my name when I learned to outline
Your losses teach hard lessons; my ledger flipped to art
I drew my future on the pavement — every scar a start
(Ad-libs: uh, rise up, come on)
[Breakdown / Call & Response]
Lead: Rise up — this is our hour
Group: Rise up — this is our hour (echo)
Lead: From late lights
Group: From late lights
Lead: From bounced checks
Group: We build heights
(Leave space for ad-libs, spoken tag, and shout-outs)
[Outro]
One line, one light, one life — we mine it for the gold
From scuffed-sneak sermons to stories finally told
Rise up — this is our hour (final chant, layered)
Fade with keys and distant sirens, heartbeat snare slowing down
(Ad-libs: yeah, we rise, we rise)
