[Intro]
Ain’t no like me
No copy in the frame
From the curb to the cold steel
Still carrying a name
[Verse 1]
I learned hope from a busted payphone
Loose change, blue tone, nowhere to go
Mama said, “Keep your hands clean, son”
But the rent came due and the night went numb
I chased a paper moon through a boarded-up town
Built a throne from the scraps they kept throwing down
Every promise had a price tag, every door had a chain
I kept yelling at the ceiling till it answered with my name
[Pre-Chorus]
Pretend dreams, paper wings
Burning holes in everything
Empty halls, bouncing calls
Hear my footsteps through the walls
[Chorus]
Ain’t no like me, ain’t no like me
From the street to the prison wall
Chasing pretend dreams, yelling in empty halls
Ain’t no like me, ain’t no like me
If I fall, I rewrite the fall
Turn the locked door into a wrecking ball
[Verse 2]
Now the window’s got a view of a razor-wire sky
Count the days by the trays and the guards walking by
But the kid in my chest still refuses the blame
He draws a bright red exit through the gray in the frame
I saw kings lose crowns over counterfeit gold
Saw brave men go quiet when the story got sold
So I sharpen every sentence, put the truth in the breath
If they bury my future, I’ll resurrect it from death
[Pre-Chorus]
Pretend dreams, paper wings
Burning holes in everything
Empty halls, bouncing calls
Hear my footsteps through the walls
[Chorus]
Ain’t no like me, ain’t no like me
From the street to the prison wall
Chasing pretend dreams, yelling in empty halls
Ain’t no like me, ain’t no like me
If I fall, I rewrite the fall
Turn the locked door into a wrecking ball
[Bridge]
No halo, no alibi
Just a pulse that won’t comply
They can number every cell
They can’t number what I felt
Say my name through the concrete
Say it loud when the silence speaks
I was more than what they called me
I am more than where they caught me
[Final Chorus]
Ain’t no like me, ain’t no like me
From the street to the prison wall
Chasing pretend dreams, yelling in empty halls
Ain’t no like me, ain’t no like me
Let the whole dead system hear the call
Turn the locked door into a wrecking ball
[Outro]
Ain’t no like me
No copy in the frame
From the curb to the cold steel
Still carrying a name