Corner-Store Summers

[Verse 1]
Hot sun on the front steps
Two bucks and a dream in the sock drawer
Corner-store juice, little bag of chips
We were rich for like ten more minutes
Mama stretching that pot on the stove
Turn one plate into plates for the whole row
Couch on the porch, music through the screen door
Laughing at the same joke we heard before
Cracked hoop with the crate on the pole
Three bricks for the free-throw line
Hand-me-downs, wrong size on my toes
Still felt fresh when we all walked by
Sirens in the dark like a lullaby
Learned which streets you never cut through
Still we played tag under busted street signs
Made a whole world out of one or two avenues (yeah)
[Chorus]
All we had was us, but we made it feel like plenty
Turn a dollar to a party, made the empty feel like many
Good times in the hood, they still live in my mind
We were broke, we were hungry
But we learned how to shine
All we had was love, all we had was the block (the block)
If the lights got cut, we lit the sky with our talk (our talk)
Good times in the hood, that’s the gold I keep inside
We were poor, we were hurting
But we learned how to survive
[Verse 2]
Old heads on the steps dropping game
Tell you what to dodge, what to never claim
Seen a homie take a wrong turn, chase fast change
We just prayed he’d find his way out that maze
Rent late, still the music stayed loud
Card table shaking, spades on the ground
Kids racing bikes through the fire-hydrant rain
Everybody soaked, nobody complained
Shared one coat when the winter came mean
Split one plate with a plastic fork clean
Line at the church for a box of canned beans
Still cracked jokes like a sitcom scene (ha)
I remember every name on the doorbell row
Every “you good?” when my head hung low
We ain’t had much, but we had that drive
And each other, that’s the reason I’m alive (real talk)
[Chorus]
All we had was us, but we made it feel like plenty
Turn a dollar to a party, made the empty feel like many
Good times in the hood, they still live in my mind
We were broke, we were hungry
But we learned how to shine
All we had was love, all we had was the block (the block)
If the lights got cut, we lit the sky with our talk (our talk)
Good times in the hood, that’s the gold I keep inside
We were poor, we were hurting
But we learned how to survive
[Bridge]
Now when I ride back through those streets (those streets)
I see kids that look just like me (like me)
Hope they know in their hearts, even when it feels hard
They can turn every scar to a key
[Chorus]
All we had was us, but we made it feel like plenty
Turn a dollar to a party, made the empty feel like many
Good times in the hood, they still live in my mind
We were broke, we were hungry
But we learned how to shine
All we had was love, all we had was the block (the block)
If the lights got cut, we lit the sky with our talk (our talk)
Good times in the hood, that’s the gold I keep inside
We were poor, we were hurting
But we learned how to survive (yeah)
We were poor, we were hurting
But we learned how to survive

rap, Warm, nostalgic boom-bap with dusty piano loop and crisp drums, male vocals. Verses sit conversational and close-mic’d, light vinyl crackle and subtle bass. Hook blossoms with stacked call-and-response vocals and a sing-rap cadence, tambourine on the backbeat. Final chorus adds doubled lead, subtle choir pad, and a slightly wider stereo image for a triumphant, bittersweet lift.