[Intro]
I was raised by the cracks in the pavement
Late nights, cold air, we were vacant
Used to pray my name made the payments
Now I teach ’em how to climb out the basement (yeah)
[Verse 1]
Used to hug that block like a blanket
Same clothes, same corner, same anger
Made meals out of change in the couch
Turned hunger to a flame in my mouth
Seen friends turn smoke in a minute
Moms cry, judge grin, case finished
I was one more call from a cage
One more raid from my face on a page
Then I stared at myself in a window
Saw a kid that the hood tried to end though
Said, "If I stay, then I’m stayin’ a victim"
Heart beat drums, had to really go fix it (yeah)
[Chorus]
I made something out of nothing, out the mud I rose
Turned my pain into a compass, let the whole block know
You can make it out the fire, you are not that smoke
We ain’t stuck inside the struggle, that’s a lie we’re told
I made something out of nothing, watch me break that mold
Used to dream inside the darkness, now my story’s gold
If I climbed up from the bottom, you can climb that rope
We ain’t stuck inside the struggle, that’s a lie we’re told (yeah)
[Verse 2]
Had a shoebox stash, now it’s books on the table
Used to count up bills, now I mentor my neighbors
Show the shorties every scar, every loss, every lesson
How the worst of my nights turned to fuel for progression
Tell ’em,
"Don’t let that block write your ending"
Your name bigger than the gang that you reppin’
That fast money feel good ’til it doesn’t
Til the sirens cut through and your momma can’t function
I was deep in the mix, now I’m deep in the mission
Same drive, different lane, same engine
If I did it with the odds all twisted
You can flip your script, you can really go lift it (yeah, talk to ’em)
[Chorus]
I made something out of nothing, out the mud I rose
Turned my pain into a compass, let the whole block know
You can make it out the fire, you are not that smoke
We ain’t stuck inside the struggle, that’s a lie we’re told
I made something out of nothing, watch me break that mold
Used to dream inside the darkness, now my story’s gold
If I climbed up from the bottom, you can climb that rope
We ain’t stuck inside the struggle, that’s a lie we’re told (yeah, let’s go)