[Intro]
(Beat: 90 BPM, boom-bap)
Yeah — corner light flicker, night on the hustle
Hands cold, heart hot, listen — this is the muscle
[Verse 1 — The Setup]
Under a broken streetlight, sneakers scuffed on cracked pavement,
Mama at the kitchen table, bills stacked, patience wavin',
Late-night corner grind, scribbles on a napkin blueprint,
Two AM subway breath, dreams loud, the world feels distant.
Calloused hands, first paycheck folded in my palm,
Promised myself I'd rise, keep steady, stay calm,
Neighbors whisper payroll fears; I whisper higher plans,
Paper routes and overtime, blueprint with bare hands.
I spit for the spare change, for the coffee and the rent,
For the name on a mailbox when I finally pay the rent,
Every hustle counted in receipts and in rhyme,
Turned hunger into hunger for timing and time.
Internal rhyme, city signs, my voice is the alarm,
I learned to flip the nights, turn struggle into charm.
Punchlines sharpened on the curb, lessons stamped in cold ink,
We walk from cracked stoops to stages — blink and we don't blink.
[Pre-Chorus — Build]
No fear in the chest, tighten grip, ready the climb (yeah),
Breathe slow, step up, now watch the clock and the time (let's go).
[Chorus — Hook (2 lines) — repeatable, punchy]
Rise up strong, we move and we belong
Rise up strong, keep pushin' all night long
(Ad-lib bed: "rise, rise" // crowd chant: "we belong")
[Verse 2 — Victory & Legacy]
First rent stamped paid, keys heavy in my fist,
Mama's smile in the doorway, she said, "Boy, we did this,"
Open-mic nights turned to spotlights on my face,
A plaque on the wall, my name in a corner of the place.
Kids on the block pointin' at murals I designed,
Graffiti letters spelling hope over the headlines,
Phone rings different now — offers, shows, and checks,
But I remember frozen nights when I couldn't pay for specs.
Call it corner to crown, from stoop to the stage throne,
From counting coins at midnight to owning my own tone.
Legacy's heavy but shaped by a thousand small fights,
By the mother who prayed, by the cold breakfast lights.
Internal rides, multisyllable ties — I deliver the proof,
From alleyway echoes to packed room roofs.
Punchline: I turned hunger into harvest, scars into stars,
Now the chorus is a chant, we sing it in the bars.
[Bridge — Half-Time Breakdown]
(Beat drops half-time, low synths, vocal chop)
We slow it down, feel the weight of the climb,
One breath, one step, one heartbeat, one rhyme.
(Half-time ad-libs: "uh-huh," "let's go")
[Pre-Chorus — Short Pivot]
No fear in the chest, tighten grip, ready the climb (rise),
Breathe slow, step up, now watch the clock and the time (rise).
[Chorus — Hook (2 lines) — Variation]
Rise up strong, we move and we belong
Rise up strong, keep pushin' all night long
(Ad-lib bed: "rise, rise" // call-and-response: "we belong")
[Outro — Chant / Audience Participation]
Rise up strong — (we rise) rise up strong — (we belong)
Rise up strong — keep pushin' all night long (chant it back)
(Loop the 2
