(Mellow Rap / Emotional storytelling)
[Intro – softly spoken]
Yeah…
Some nights I still hear his voice,
But I ain’t scared no more.
I just… let it fade.
---
[Verse 1]
He’d come home smellin’ like smoke and regret,
Talkin’ loud, breakin’ sh*t, like he tryna forget,
Mom would cry slow, I’d just stare at the wall,
Thinkin’ “why we gotta live like this at all?”
I was just a kid, tryna hold my breath,
Every night feelin’ close to death,
But pain made a promise I’ll never forget,
I’ll grow up good, not broken like that.
---
[Hook / Chorus]
I ain’t like my father, no way,
I ain’t playin’ with the pain he played,
I took his fire, made light from the flame,
I changed the story, but kept the name.
I ain’t like my father, no hate,
Just learnin’ from the mess he made,
I carry love where he carried rage,
Broke that curse, turned the page.
---
[Verse 2]
Yeah, I got his eyes, but not his soul,
I got scars, but they made me whole,
Sometimes I feel that shadow’s near,
But I fight it off, I ain’t built from fear.
He said “life’s hard” — I said “I know,”
But pain don’t mean you gotta lose control,
I’m writin’ my truth, I’m lettin’ it flow,
What he buried, I let it grow.
---
[Bridge – emotional tone]
Sometimes I wish he could see me now,
Not the scared kid, but what I allowed,
Turned pain into peace, turned hate into vow,
I forgive him… but I ain’t him now.
---
[Hook / Chorus – soft fade]
I ain’t like my father, no way,
I ain’t playin’ with the pain he played,
I took his fire, made light from the flame,
I changed the story, but kept the name.
---
[Outro – spoken]
Yeah…
He taught me what not to be,
And maybe that’s what I needed.
I ain’t like my father…
I’m free.
