Pen & Prison

Intro

Yeah... from the bottom looking up

Every word is a brick, every line is a blueprint

This the testimony, let's go

Hook

Wrote my way out the trenches, turned the pain to a weapon

Every bar is a brick, building bridges while I'm stepping

They can't stop what they can't kill, I'm the living confession

Pen mightier than prison, this my motherfucking blessing

Wrote my way out the trenches, turned the pain to a weapon

Every bar is a brick, building bridges while I'm stepping

They can't stop what they can't kill, I'm the living confession

Pen mightier than prison, this my motherfucking blessing

Verse 1

Started from the bottom with a fucked up dream to chase

Operating different, got these bastards checking my resume

Used to rock the same jeans seven days, couldn't clean my plate

Now the flow's immaculate, they study it like a PHD case

Corner store philosophy, economics in my arteries

Faucet leaking, momma speaking 'bout the rent like an odyssey

Partners all abandoned me, family tree got broken branches

But I planted seeds in concrete, reaping what I have to be

Summer days, hunger raised me like a son that wasn't wanted

Winter coat from '03, still the coldest when I'm haunted here

Uncle told me "get in line" like a lion in the jungle, fear

Just a feeling, not a fact, so I attack until it's clear

Pen is mightier than weapons at the county jail

Brother wrote me from a cell, said his letters are his only sail

System is a prison even when you're out on money bail

So I write him back in code, let him know he's the holy grail

Walked through fire, no liar, been inspired by the lowest shit

Dirty Nikes, white tee, same hoodie that I wrote this in

Momma working double shifts, tryna make her mortgage quit

Every syllable's a brick, building houses out of poet spit

They want me in a box, a plot, a spot where I'm forgotten

But I'm a problem you can't solve, revolve around the honest rap

Got the city on my back, the weight is heavy but I'm fond of that

Pressure make you bend or break, wonder where the monster at

Late nights under street lights, deep fights with my consciousness

Wondering if I'm built for this or if I'm just an optimist

Pessimists don't make it out the trenches where the coffins sit

So I polish every sentence 'til it's flawless, that's my confidence

Grew up where the sirens sing, violence is the common thread

Friends become a memory, felony or caught some lead

Momma praying on her knees, begging Jesus for her son's ahead

Keep my head down, pen to pad until the hunger's fed

Meek shall inherit earth, but first you gotta work for it

Can't be passive in a system that's designed to make you worthless, shit

Assertive with my purpose, every verse is like a church service

Preaching to the struggle, let 'em know they're fucking worth it

Roaches in the kitchen, dishes piling in the sink for days

Water getting cut off, momma stressed about the bills to pay

Scribbling these syllables, feeling like I'm built to say

Something that could change the world or get us a meal today

Teachers said I wouldn't make it, told me stay in place

Guidance counselor saw a statistic when she saw my face

Defiant with my talent, balance passion with the grace

Every line I write's a fight against the system's damn embrace

Corner boys are getting popped, cops don't stop to ask your name

Body bags and yellow tape, another mother's crashing pain

Tryna make it out without a casket or some chains

Crafting every bar like it's the last chance to explain

Grocery store cashier asked me what I'm doing with my life

Told her I'm a writer, she just laughed and said "that's nice"

Sacrificing sleep, I'm paying prices, rolling dice

Every night I'm in the lab, turning struggle into ice

Pops was never present, so I'm guessing that I'm self-made

Learned to tie my shoes alone, I grew alone, I felt the pain

Pain became the fuel, now I'm cool with how the cards fell, mane

Dealing with the hand I got, building my own cartel, no help came