Back 2 Basics

Been ages since the noise died down…

Every loss was a verse, every scar was a sound.

Verse 1]

It’s been ages since I lit those stages and pages,

Back to the basics, no favors, just lacing.

They talk loud like they fund my wages,

But I built my name through the cuts and cages.

Every corner, a choir of sirens and lessons,

Concrete hymns, no priest, just confessions.

I walk through echoes where my dreams were detained,

Turned the chains to a rhythm, pain to refrain.

The city prayed for peace while the guns kept time,

I prayed for focus, the rest fell in line.

It’s been ages since I lit those stages and pages,

Back to the basics, no favors, just lacing.

They talk big like they fund my wages,

But I built my name through the cuts and cages.

Yeah, it’s been ages, my game contagious,

But it’s cool, now I’m bound for places.

Gotta sit back, yeah, I’m on hiatus,

‘Cause I know those feds out there made us.

(choir hums the last line in harmony)

From the alleys where the frost bit pride,

To the skyline where my hope revived,

I carved my script with a calloused hand,

No halo, just hustle and a promised land.

Measured my worth in late-night sessions,

Ink bled truth, those were my confessions.

Built foundations from the echoes they cursed,

Now the same streets quote my verse.

I fell, I rose, I carried the flame,

Every setback tattooed my name.

No saints in the storm, just souls that fight,

Turn the struggle into holy light.

(Choir response)

Holy light… holy light…

It’s been ages since I lit those stages and pages,

Back to the basics, no favors, just lacing.

They talk big like they fund my wages,

But I built my name through the cuts and cages.

Yeah, it’s been ages, my game contagious,

But it’s cool, now I’m bound for places.

Gotta sit back, yeah, I’m on hiatus,

‘Cause I know those feds out there made us.

(Choir layers in full:)

Ages… stages… pages…

Rise through the cages… we made us…

Outro (choir a cappella, fading)

Back to the basics…

No favors… just faith in the making.