

Prompt / Lyrics
[Verse 1] Phone rang once Then silence fell Mama hit the floor Whole world stood still Little brother screaming Oldest holding back tears Three girls in the hallway Watching all their fears Paramedics talking Like they’d done this before Sheet over her sneakers As they rolled her to the door Childhood in a trash bag Packed up that same night Four kids in the rearview New life, no guide [Chorus] We were forced to grow up Didn’t get to choose Had to lace our shoes tight Learn to never lose We were forced to grow up Turned pain into proof Carried what she left us Like a battered truth We were forced to grow up Yeah, way too fast Tryna be the future With a shattered past [Verse 2] Oldest sister working Clock in after class Middle one cooking Stretching every last Baby girl folding All the secondhand clothes Little man asking “Where did mama go?” Answers in the letters From shut-off bills In the empty cabinets In the we-learned-to-fill We swapped out cartoons For court dates and plans Google how to budget With shaking hands [Chorus] We were forced to grow up Didn’t get to choose Had to lace our shoes tight Learn to never lose We were forced to grow up Turned pain into proof Carried what she left us Like a battered truth We were forced to grow up Yeah, way too fast Tryna be the future With a shattered past [Bridge] But every time we stumble Hear her in our heads “Baby, keep on going” Echoes of what she said Four kids in formation Walking through the fire Broken, but together Built from her desire [Chorus] We were forced to grow up Didn’t get to choose Had to lace our shoes tight Learn to never lose We were forced to grow up Turned pain into proof Carried what she left us Like a battered truth We were forced to grow up Yeah, way too fast But we’ll raise our own kids So they can just laugh
Tags
rap, Moody storytelling rap over a minor-key piano loop and deep, sparse drums; verses stay intimate and close-mic’d, with subtle pad swells under the heaviest lines. Hook lifts with layered, haunting female harmonies shadowing the main vocal, 808s blooming on the downbeat. Final chorus strips to piano and voice for a raw, vulnerable outro.
2:37
No
2/10/2026