Brick Dust

I come up clean from the brick dust

Palm full of plans and a little bit of mistrust

Old bus ride, new day, same grin

Same cracked screen, same dream, let me in

Mama said "move smart, keep your head low"

I learned fast where the cold hard bread go

Hand-me-down kicks on a wet floor

Still I walk like I own what I step for

Pocket full of lint, heart full of thunder

Every loss made the next move stronger

Talk big, I don't need the applause

I let the facts hit hard, let them pause

Look at the face, look at the frame

Same hands, different game

I don't fold when it rains

I just write my name

Brick dust, brick dust, rise up

Brick dust, brick dust, light up

Hands up, hands up, don't rush

Brick dust, brick dust, rise up

Corner store light on a chipped glass door

Seen a lot of "one day" walk out before

Friend turn fake when the bill came due

So I keep my circle tight, keep it true

Late-night pages, coffee gone cold

Not the kind of story that gets told

I was built from the scratch, from the scrape, from the grind

From the "can't," from the doubt, from the back of the line

Now the room get loud when I step in

No borrowed shine, no pretend win

If I speak, I mean it, every line got weight

Every scar on my skin got a stamp from fate

Look at the face, look at the frame

Same hands, different game

I don't fold when it rains

I just write my name

Brick dust, brick dust, rise up

Brick dust, brick dust, light up

Hands up, hands up, don't rush

Brick dust, brick dust, rise up

Reversed soul chop under the drums

Every wrong turn made the right ones come

I don't chase, I build from the base

Step by step, face to face

Brick dust, brick dust, rise up

Brick dust, brick dust, light up

Hands up, hands up, don't rush

Brick dust, brick dust, rise up

Brick dust on my sleeve

Still here, believe

Brick dust on my sleeve

Still here, believe