Back Alley Proof

I came up where the floors stay split

Old hood smell in my jacket zip

Corner store glow on a rain-streaked glass

Momma said move, but I move too fast

New book bag with a busted strap

Loose leaf dreams in a paper sack

I seen fake love on a borrowed smile

So I keep my pace and I keep my file

Count that pain, turn it to gold

Same old block, new on my soul

Hands stay clean, but the work stay raw

I don’t fold, I don’t stall

Back alley proof

I been that truth

Back alley proof

Still cut through

Back alley proof

Watch me move

Back alley proof

I been that truth

Bus stop frost and a chipped-up chain

Two missed calls and a pocket full of change

I built this calm from a storm door slam

From hand-me-down plans and a stubborn stand

They want my spark, want my name in flames

Want me to chase what I can’t contain

But I got grit in the soles I wear

And a long hard stare that don’t ask fair

Count that pain, turn it to gold

Same old block, new on my soul

Hands stay clean, but the work stay raw

I don’t fold, I don’t stall

Back alley proof

I been that truth

Back alley proof

Still cut through

Back alley proof

Watch me move

Back alley proof

I been that truth

If I disappear, my steps still speak

On the cracked-up blocks where the nights run deep

I learned my worth in the hard-time school

Now I walk like I made the rules

Back alley proof

I been that truth

Back alley proof

Still cut through

Back alley proof

Watch me move

Back alley proof

I been that truth