[Verse 1]
Comin' of age in the hood ain't no paradise,
No daddy, no money, every day another sacrifice.
Hard not to do wrong when it's all that you see,
Stomach screamin' louder than the voice inside of me.
The opportunities visible seem like the only ones possible,
Dreams feel unreachable, success looks impossible.
From the hood come gangsters, dreamers and doers,
Ain't no lawyers or doctors here, no mentors to groom us.
Dodgin' bullets and beatings, tryin' to stay alive,
Opportunity ghosts the kids just tryin' to survive.
The pied pipers are the drug lords and athletes,
Everybody sellin' hope to the kids in the back streets.
[Pre-Chorus]
Playin' it safe still leaves me poor,
So I keep knockin' on a different door.
The dream became the plan when nothin' else was there,
Holdin' on to faith, breathin' hope into the air.
[Chorus]
Maybe one day they'll know my name,
From the struggle, from the pain.
A dope hook and a beat might set me free,
Turn these scars into a legacy.
Maybe one day the whole world'll see,
Everything it took to become me.
Till that day I grind and believe,
The streets won't decide my destiny.
[Verse 2]
Makin' music is my exodus,
Every verse another step away from what was wreckin' us.
Catch a glimmer of hope with a hook and a beat,
Prayin' it's the path that carries me outta these streets.
While I'm waitin', still gotta pay the bills,
People dependin' on me, gotta keep it real.
A man handles business however he can,
Tryin' to build a future with the cards in his hand.
Nobody cared where I came from when the numbers got high,
Suddenly the same people wanna stand by my side.
My journal used to help me cope with the stress,
Now it's fuel for the lyrics I confess.
[Bridge]
No support, no encouragement, nobody believed,
Just a fire in my soul that refused to leave.
The spark inside kept tellin' me to keep goin',
When nobody saw the seed, I already saw it growin'.
[Final Chorus]
Maybe one day they'll know my name,
Not because I escaped, but because I overcame.
Turned my wounds into words, my pain into art,
Found a way to give hope to the kids where I start.
Maybe one day the whole world'll see,
What determination did for me.
Young brother, hold on, just wait and see,
The whole world's gonna know who we be.
