Cell Block Psalms

[Verse 1]
Used to tuck pain in my waistband
Cold heart, same color as the spray can
Mama said, "Boy, this path got a grave, man"
I just laughed, hit the corner, made a play, ran
Four deep in a car with the plates bent
Dead eyes, we ain't care what the day meant
Judge read numbers like a phone line
Half my life on a shelf, doin' state time
First night, steel bunk, couldn't fake brave
Tears dried on the pillow that the last made
Ink names on the wall of the dead homies
Whole tier full of wolves, but I felt lonely
Kept dreamin' of the bodies that we dropped off
Kept hearin' all the screams when the shots coughed
Kept starin' at the ceiling like it talked back
"Is this it? Is this really where my heart at?"
[Chorus]
I was lost in the cell, in the dark of my mind
Walkin' circles in hell, doin' laps with my pride
Then I fell to the floor, said, "I'm tired of the war"
Heard a voice in the quiet say, "You ain't yours no more"
From the gang to the grave, I was headed that way
But His blood hit the stain, washed the red off my name
I was locked in a cage, thought the story was done
Met the Lord in the yard, now I'm free when I run (free when I run)
[Verse 2]
Old crew sendin' kites, say they still slide
"Once you out, we got a spot on the hillside"
I wrote back, "I can't come, I got new ties
I got scripture in my chest where the blue lies"
Used to post with a flag on the same block
Now I post up with a verse and the chains dropped
Chaplain saw all the rage in my blank stare
Put a book in my hand, told me, "Start there"
Read about a Man took nails for the street sins
Sat back, thought, "Ain't nobody ever bleed for my weak skin"
If He ate with the thieves, died with the outcasts
Maybe He could clean up my foul past
So I prayed in the pod when the lights dimmed
"Take the hate, take the blade, take the life sin"
Felt peace in a place it don't belong in
Like rain in the range when the storm in
Now I'm back in the world, see my son grow
Tryna teach him 'bout grace, let the gun go
Still hear old ghosts in the late night
But I talk to the Lord 'til it fade light (fade light)
[Chorus]
I was lost in the cell, in the dark of my mind
Walkin' circles in hell, doin' laps with my pride
Then I fell to the floor, said, "I'm tired of the war"
Heard a voice in the quiet say, "You ain't yours no more"
From the gang to the grave, I was headed that way
But His blood hit the stain, washed the red off my name
I was locked in a cage, thought the story was done
Met the Lord in the yard, now I'm free when I run (yeah, free when I run)

rap, Gritty East Coast boom-bap, minor-key piano loop and dusty drums, warm sub-bass under urgent male vocals. First verse close and confessional, doubling on key end-words; hook widens with stacked gospel-style harmonies and subtle organ. Second verse adds ad-lib echoes, small drop-outs on punchlines, then a final hook with choir lifts and a long reverb tail on the last word.