*Ayo...
Sun sinks low over Charlotte streets, same scene on repeat
Watch the block heat like a pressure cooker with no release
Young Black face behind the glass, probation officer speakin' Greek
"Just find a job"—like crack rocks ain't buried deep beneath
These pavement cracks where Daddy's dreams got swept away discreet
Now Momma's workin' double shifts just to keep the lights and eat
While I'm scribblin' rhymes, hopin' syllables might keep me free
But the system's got a quota: *another body for the concrete*
Seen my homie lose his light workin' overtime for the Feds
Same pride that made his granddad march now got him seein' red
They say "Pull your pants up!" but they tie the rope 'round our necks instead
This American Dream feel more like a noose inside my head...*
### (Chorus)
*Heavy crowns on Black kings, yeah the weight is real
Walk a tightrope daily—balance heaven and the steel
Got the world on your shoulders, but they tell you "Never kneel"
While they sell our pain for profit on the evening news reel
Heavy crowns... we bleed it out silently*
### (Verse 2)
*Got a degree framed dusty—still they eye me in the store
Like my skin is the disclaimer: "*Caution: threat at door*"
White colleague call me "articulate"—backhanded compliments galore
While my son’s school suspends him ‘cause his braids "disrupt the decor"
Tried therapy last winter... therapist squirmed when I said "race"
Switched topics to "mindfulness" and erased the bloodstains on the case
Now I’m pacin’ in the nursery, prayin’ I don’t replicate the pain
‘Cause love ain’t armor when the bullets of the world start aimin’ at his name
We build mansions in the metaverse ‘cause the banks deny the loan
Smile through the micro-aggressions just to claim a space we own
They want Pac without the passion, want a dream with no backbone
Want our rhythm, not our rebellion—want the fruit, but not the tree grown...*
### (Bridge - Spoken Word)
*Look...
The trauma’s in the tap water. The fear’s in the silence between sirens.
We mourning men who still breathing. Fighting wars in peace treaties.
Ain’t no villains here—just survivors writing hymns in the fire.*
### (Outro)
*Heavy crowns... but we still bloom in the shadows though
Plant seeds in the cracks where the hope grows slow
Yeah...*
*(Beat fades on muted trumpet & vinyl crackle)*
