[Intro – somber piano + vocal loop] Yeah… This ain’t just where I’m from, It’s what made me. ⸻ [Verse 1] I came from a place where the plates were paper, No silver spoons, just prayers to the Maker. Lights got cut, so we lit that flame, Candle on the table while we played that game. Mama said, “Eat slow, we ain’t got seconds,” Fridge was low but the love was present. Shoes too small, but my dreams too big, Learned how to fight before I learned how to live. Roaches on the wall, sirens in the night, I seen more trauma than I seen light. OGs posted on the block like saints, Giving out sermons with liquor and paint. Pops was gone, streets was school, Lessons taught in a game with no rules. But I never folded, heart stayed brave, That pain? Just fuel that I still save. ⸻ [Hook – melodic rap, emotional tone] I came from the bottom, no map, no favor, Where hope got sold and the peace was paper. Plates were plastic, dreams were steel, Made my name with nothin’ but will. From the dirt, I rose like flames, Now they all know the boy’s name. But I still remember them long cold waits, And them late nights eatin’ off paper plates. ⸻ [Verse 2 – storytelling flow, deeper intensity] We ain’t have cable, but we had faith, Every scrape built up the man I made. Corner store runs with a pocket of change, Bag of chips, and a plan to rearrange. Saw my brother get locked, saw my cousin OD, Whole hood got scars you don’t see on IG. Mama cried when I made it through school, Said, “Baby, you ain’t gotta play by their rules.” Fast forward — now I’m tourin’ these stages, But the hood still bleeds between these pages. I still walk with the chip on my soul, Still pray for the ones that ain’t grow old. This for the kids with the ramen pots, Cracked screen phones, but they still won’t stop. Ain’t no shame in how we came, Just know that pain ain’t all in vain. ⸻ [Hook – repeat, with extra harmony layer] I came from the bottom, no map, no favor, Where hope got sold and the peace was paper. Plates were plastic, dreams were steel, Made my name with nothin’ but will. From the dirt, I rose like flames, Now they all know the boy’s name. But I still remember them long cold waits, And them late nights eatin’ off paper plates. ⸻ [Outro – spoken word / faded piano loop] From paper plates… To platinum dates. But I still go back home — ‘Cause that’s where they taught me to hold my own.

Paper plates