Ten Toes Down

Uh, uh

Cold nights, colder hearts

Yeah

Listen—

Red lights flicker,

city full of shadows

Pain in my chest but I’m still ten toes down though

Too many candles, too many names on the memorial Street stories turn

legendary, then turn historical

No sleep, eyes

low, mind racing Whole block tense,

everybody feel the frustration They want war,

I want elevation ‘Cause revenge ain’t a win,

it’s another graduation

I got pain in the pen,

put pressure in the pad Every bar heavyweight,

make the whole room sag They was talking real tough,

now the energy bad

Funny how the loudest voices get quiet when it’s sad

Cold city, cold heart,

winter in my veins Every loss left a lesson,

every scar got a name They want stripes,

I want checks, that’s a different campaign I’m tryna turn street pressure

into legitimate gains

Wordplay surgical, every sentence got a blade But I’m cutting through the

beat, not somebody’s barricade Death around the corner,

so I’m moving with awareness

Turn trauma into triumph,

make the pain pay the rent I don’t glorify the bodies,

I remember every face ‘Cause the block keeps receipts,

ain’t no running from the case Everybody wants a crown till they

realize the weight

Real kings build an empire,

they don’t celebrate the grave

Red lights flicker, city full of shadows

Pain in my chest but I’m still ten toes down though Too

many candles, too many names on the memorial

Street stories turn legendary,

then turn historical

No sleep,

eyes low, mind racing Whole block tense,

everybody feel the frustration They want war,

I want elevation ‘Cause revenge ain’t a win,

it’s another graduation

I made pain into poetry,

pressure into profit Had the whole world against me,

still I couldn’t stop it They were waiting for me falling,

I was plotting on a rocket

Now I’m knocking down the ceiling every time I get a pocket

Heavy bars, heavy thoughts,

heavyweight mentality Turn tragedy to strategy,

that’s street mathematics They count bodies,

I count blessings and opportunities Same environment,

different vision, that’s the difference between A nightmare and a dream,

a sentence and a scheme A victim and survivor,

a loss and a legacy

I seen brothers turn to

ghosts, that’s reality So I put their memory in every piece of

poetry Sharp tongue, dark tone,

cold flow, no gimmick Every sixteen hit different when the truth is

embedded in it They expect another crash-out,

I give ’em something bigger Turn a street full of tension to

a stage full of winners

Sirens in the distance,

bass shaking through the night

Everybody chasing darkness, I’m just tryna find the light If the city

gave me scars, I’ma make ’em part of the fight Not another

name remembered

underneath a candlelight

Red lights flicker, city full of shadows

Pain in my chest but I’m still ten toes down though Too

many candles, too many names on the memorial Turn the pain into

a story that’ll live beyond the corridor No sleep,

eyes low, mind racing Whole block tense,

everybody feel the frustration They want war,

I want elevation Turn the pressure into power — that’s the real

retaliation.