Ayy, yeah
Big steppin’ in the concrete jungle
It ain’t where you from—nah, it’s how you hustle
Yeah, real ones gon’ feel this one
New York! That’s where it started, big steppin’ in the boroughs
From Queensbridge to Harlem, they know we got the thorough
Uptown in the winter, but the drip stay hot
Catch me posted in the Bronx with the fitted on lock
New York! Where the real don’t fold, and the grind don’t stop
Catch a hundred on the dash down the FDR
From the block to the charts, we done earned these stripes
This that Empire talk, we don’t talk too nice
Yankee fitted low, Tims tied like my kinfolk
Raised on bodegas and breakbeats, where the pen poke
Statue of the struggle, made of fire and steel
Where the winters ice cold but the hearts don’t chill
Came from the era where the boom bap boomed
Now it’s iPhones and V12s, same goon moves
Brooklyn made me, Queens taught me to finesse
Bronx gave me hunger, Staten showed me the rest
Now I’m stompin’ through Manhattan like I own this turf
Wall Street dreams but I came from the dirt
Never fold, never fake, never play for clout
If you ever heard me rap, you know what I’m ’bout
New York! That’s where it started, big steppin’ in the boroughs
From Queensbridge to Harlem, they know we got the thorough
Uptown in the winter, but the drip stay hot
Catch me posted in the Bronx with the fitted on lock
New York! Where the real don’t fold, and the grind don’t stop
Catch a hundred on the dash down the FDR
From the block to the charts, we done earned these stripes
This that Empire talk, we don’t talk too nice
Big city dreams with the big city sins
Where a handshake mean more than the suits we in
Got the sauce like I’m Diddy, got the grind like Jay
Mixin’ old school hustle with that new wave pay
I ain’t never left the block, just expanded the view
Now it’s skyline dinners, still the same old crew
Got a crib upstate, but the soul’s in Flatbush
Still don’t trust snakes, still don’t do no hush hush
This for my kin tryna make it out the five
From the stoops to the booth, yeah, the city’s still alive
You ain’t seen no real till you seen these streets
Where the culture got roots and the heart don’t sleep
New York! That’s where it started, big steppin’ in the boroughs
From Queensbridge to Harlem, they know we got the thorough
Uptown in the winter, but the drip stay hot
Catch me posted in the Bronx with the fitted on lock
New York! Where the real don’t fold, and the grind don’t stop
Catch a hundred on the dash down the FDR
From the block to the charts, we done earned these stripes
This that Empire talk, we don’t talk too nice
Yeah…
From the subway to the skyline
It’s still one city, one throne
New York—stand up
GhOsT
