Gangsta

Verse 1

Dust in my lungs, blood on my hands,

Torouf nights hotter than the devil’s plans.

AK on my shoulder, eyes dead like stone,

Mama prayed for me, but the streets took her son.

Twelve years old when they handed me the blade,

Said “cut your fear or get cut in the shade.”

We ride rusty bikes through the millet fields,

Smuggling fuel, smuggling pain, whatever pays the bills.

Chorus

This is the life, no glory, just graves,

Torouf don’t love you, it just digs your place.

Brothers turn to ghosts when the money runs dry,

Bullets sing lullabies under a blood-red sky.

Hard life, scarred life, gang life, damned life,

Every breath a gamble in the Niger night.

Verse 2

Frenchie got smoked last Ramadan moon,

Caught a clip in the back while he prayed for the crew.

We buried him shallow, no tears, just dirt,

Marked his name with a rock and a curse.

Government soldiers roll through once a week,

Take our bribes then burn what we need.

Hunger in the belly, paranoia in the mind,

Every shadow a traitor, every friend half-blind.

Chorus

This is the life, no glory, just graves,

Torouf don’t love you, it just digs your place.

Brothers turn to ghosts when the money runs dry,

Bullets sing lullabies under a blood-red sky.

Hard life, scarred life, gang life, damned life,

Every breath a gamble in the Niger night.

Bridge

I see my little sister selling water by the road,

Eyes like mine used to be, before the code.

She asks why I carry death in my coat,

I tell her “this the only language the world ever spoke.”

Rain never comes, just sandstorms and lead,

Dreams of leaving die with every man we bled.

One day they’ll find me face-down in the dirt,

Another number in a war that don’t hurt.

(Final Chorus – slower, colder)

This was the life… no glory, just graves,

Torouf raised me savage then sent me to the flames.

No heaven for killers, no peace for the lost,

Just endless circles in the desert exhaust.

Hard life… last life… gang life… gone life…

Torouf keeps calling from the dark.

Outro – whispered

Allah forgive me… I was just trying to eat.

Torouf… you beautiful killer.