no-ledge is power

I know every corner, every route, every scar

Same town on the map, different war in my heart

Same streets made me, same streets wanna test me

If the city raised hell, then the hell can't impress me

Back to the brick, eyes low, but the vision stay panoramic

Everybody waving flags, I learned every flag got a price attached to it

Everybody got a past, I got chapters they don't wanna read

Made a habit outta pressure, now the pressure gotta follow me

Mama said, “Choose your battles,” I was raised where they chose for you

Now I'm picking every fight with the voice saying, “What you supposed to do?”

I don't duck smoke, I study it, find the shape in the atmosphere

Turn fear into fuel, put the pedal down, disappear

I made peace with the pressure, never made peace with the panic

Got plans in my pocket and a head full of mechanics

If I run from the block, then the block comes with me

So I carry every lesson like a debt that ain't forgiven

Quick—

Back against the wall, still I write like I own the building

Pain gave me penmanship, pressure gave me proper vision

Broke but never broken, that's a different kind of accounting

Had nothing in the bank, still the balance sheet was mounting

I learned interest from interest — every minute that I wasted

Now I'm taxing every second, ain't no time getting repossessed

They wanted me stationary, I turned the station into motion

Now I'm moving with intention, every setback gets promoted

If the walls know my name, let 'em echo it tonight

I ain't asking for permission, I been earning every right

If the pressure wants a problem, tell it meet me at the door

I done fought myself so long, I don't fear myself anymore

I'm going to war in my own city

Going to war with the voice in my head

Every red light says, “You're not ready”

Every cold night counts what I said

I won't fold, I won't flee, I won't bury what's left

If I lose, let me lose with my hands on my chest

I'm going to war in my own city

Going to war till I'm clear in my head

Quick step, breath short, rain tapping Morse on the glass

Old friends, new debts, same old ghosts when I pass

Bus stop philosopher, thinking how the route got twisted

Had a destination, but the road kept changing the distance

I can hear doubt talking — cool, let it finish its sentence

I reply with results, that's a different dialect of tension

Turn a bad day into fuel, turn the fear into traction

Turn a closed door to a frame for a different entrance

No sleep, two jobs, phone full of “Where you at?”

I was somewhere in my thoughts while the whole town watched me crack

But the cracks let light in, now the fracture got a function

Had to break a few illusions just to build a better structure

Rapid fire—

Cut through the static, automatic with the mathematics

Had a habit of imagining the damage, now I manage it

Calculated every failure, made the failure part of calculus

They counted me out so often I started counting up the averages

Vision getting vivid, every minute got a mission in it

Limit? I don't live within it, I just pivot when I'm hitting it

Pressure on the pressure cooker, still I'm never losing temperature

Turned the heat into a teacher, now the lesson's in my signature

They can judge from the curb, throw opinions from the porch

I got fire in my lungs, but I'm careful where I torch

Not a saint, not clean, I got sins I won't romanticize

But I know what I owe that kid staring through my younger eyes

He refused to let go, so I refuse to let him down

Every loss became a lesson, every lesson built the sound

Every “no” became a note, every note became a song

Now the doubt that used to haunt me gotta rap along

I'm going to war in my own city

Going to war with the voice in my head

Every red light says, “You're not ready”

Every cold night counts what I said

I won't fold, I won't flee, I won't bury what's left

If I lose, let me lose with my hands on my chest

I'm going to war in my own city

Going to war till I'm clear in my head

Cut the engine, kill the phone

Let the whole damn city leave me alone

No crowd, no cause, no disguise

No reflection I can blame for the lies

Just me, eye-to-eye with the fear I created

Face-to-face with the doubts I avoided

Funny — all that noise sounded ten feet tall

Till I stood up straight and realized it was four feet small

I'm going to war in my own city

Going to war with the voice in my head

Every red light says, “You're not ready”

Every cold night counts what I said

I won't fold, I won't flee, I won't bury what's left

If I lose, let me lose with my hands on my chest

I'm going to war in my own city

Going to war till I'm clear in my head

okay fuck this. 

do you really think anyone's listening?