[Intro]
Started with a hope and a headache
Hand-me-down shoes, same staircase
Mama yelling rent due, heart race
[low vocal register] I swore I’d flip fate, not chase
[Verse 1]
Used to count coins for the bus ride
Same three shirts on the clothesline
Lunch came late, had to swallow pride
Dreams felt big in a small life
Couch on the floor, that was “my room”
Phone cracked screen, scrolling past doom
Watching other people living too soon
I was plotting from the back of the classroom
Writing whole plans on the notebook
Teacher walked past, gave a cold look
Didn’t see a king, just a broke kid
Now I sign checks where my name is the bold print
[Chorus]
Came from nothing, turned to someone (yeah)
Built my name, I had to become one (had to)
Head down, now the world say “he the one” (they know)
All this pain in my past, that’s my income
Came from nothing, turned to someone (from the dirt)
Every loss that I took made me run more (run)
I remember when they laughed, now they hum songs
Came from nothing, turned to someone
[Verse 2]
Whole block said “you won’t be much”
Same mouths now beg just to keep in touch
Same hands that ain’t clap, now they reach up
Still the same scar on my cheek, yeah I keep those
Cold nights, breath in the air, I was outside
Writing bars on my phone by the street sign
Told myself “if I quit, then I die twice”
One from the dream, then the real life
Now the door that was closed got kicked in
Turned every “you can’t” to a big win
Family at the table when the check hit
Mama don’t cry, that’s a blessing, not stress drip
Still remember store credit, had to beg them
Now the clerk say “put it on” when I step in
Crazy how the hunger turned to leverage
Still that kid from the bottom, just ascended
[Chorus]
[Bridge]
From the bus stop
To the black trucks
From the side eye
To the heads up
From the small talk
To the big cuts
From the deep doubt
To the big “us” (yeah, yeah)
[whispered vocals] I was never just nothing
I was always becoming
[Chorus]