[Verse 1]
Brown paper bag
underneath that flickered porch light
Counting crumpled bills
like I'm trying to buy a short life
Mama in the kitchen
stretching rice, praying rent right
Landlord at the door
same time every fortnight
Phone buzz once
that's a maybe, buzz twice, go
Stash in the sole
of the same torn shelltoe
I ain't dreamt big
since the last school bell though
Dropped out, clocked in
to the back-hood hell show
Uncle got a habit
and my cousin got a case
Judge gave numbers
like he drawing on a safe
Every man around me
either buried or replaced
So I learned to turn a corner
to a wage in a day
[Chorus]
Gotta eat, so I hustle on the low
Cold nights, new scars, same clothes
I don't brag, I don't flex, I just go
This that corner math
trying not to die broke
(yeah, yeah)
I ain't proud, but I never had a choice
Whole block talking through my voice
If I stop, who gon' keep the lights on?
This that corner math
just trying to live long
[Verse 2]
Hand to hand flips
under cameras that don't work
Young kid watching
with his backpack, homework
He ask how much
I tell him "stay in school first"
Knowing damn well
school ain't saved me from this dirt
Police ride slow
like they studying my face
Metal on my hip
heavy like another case
Every siren sound
make my heart start to race
But the baby need milk
and my sister need braces
OG said
"Short money got a long bill"
Every fast dollar
got a slow kind of kill
I feel it in my chest
every time it get still
When I count what I made
and it's less than my guilt
[Chorus]
Gotta eat, so I hustle on the low
Cold nights, new scars, same clothes
I don't brag, I don't flex, I just go
This that corner math
trying not to die broke
(uh, yeah)
I ain't proud, but I never had a choice
Whole block talking through my voice
If I stop, who gon' keep the lights on?
This that corner math
just trying to live long