[Intro]
Started with a backpack
Hand-me-down shoes
Nobody believed me
I ain’t ask for proof
[Verse 1]
Came from the dirt
Concrete stains on my socks
Mama counting coins
Stretching change round the block
Cold rice in the pot
Phone off, had to walk
Dreams louder than the noise
I just tuned out the talk
Same hoodie all year
Smelled like sweat and hope
Writing bars on my math sheet
Teacher thought it was a joke
Friends fell off
Like paint from the porch rail
I kept climbing that staircase
Even when the steps failed
[Chorus]
From the dirt to the roof, I’m up
Little by little, had to build my luck
Every scar on my name, that’s proof I’m tough
From the dirt to the roof, I’m up, I’m up
From the dirt to the roof, I’m up
Slow climb, but I never once gave up
They gon’ say it’s sudden, they ain’t see that cut
From the dirt to the roof, I’m up, I’m up
[Verse 2]
Now they see the chain
Never saw the chains on my mind
See the stage lights
Never saw me grind overtime
Sleeping on the floor
Woke up with a verse in my head
Turned hunger into hustle
Turned “maybe” to “yeah”
Used to pray for a ride
Now I’m parking outside
Same kid, new drive
Same road, less pride
I don’t flex on the past
I just carry it with
Every “L” that I took
Turned that loss to a lift
[Chorus]
[Bridge]
Step by step
Never skipped one rung (nah)
Mouth was broke
But my will had tongue
Talked it into life
Before the paper came
Now the boy from the bottom
Got his own last name
[Chorus]