Off The Block

[Verse 1]
I came up off the bus pass
Holes in my shoes, still I ran past
Every little limit that they hand-crafted
Turned late bills into game-plan habits
Mom on the phone with the lights due
I was in the notes, writing haikus
Turned every L to a how-to
Now I’m the one they point at like “that’s you?”
[Chorus]
Off the block, but the block still in me (yeah)
Turned that doubt to a whole new city (woah)
They threw dirt, grew roots so pretty
Now the kid from the back row runnin’ the committee (hey!)
Off the block, but the block still callin’
I was dead broke, now the bag keep fallin’
Same old name, new way I’m talkin’
From the cracks in the pavement to the top, still walkin’
[Verse 2]
Big dreams in a small lunch
Split fries with the squad, that was all us
Now the calls come through, they want all cuts
Funny how they never showed when the car stuck
Had to work two shifts, then I write eight
Sleeping on the rhyme till the line wake
Every little “can’t” made the spine straight
Now the “maybe one day” got a time frame
[Chorus]
Off the block, but the block still in me (yeah)
Turned that doubt to a whole new city (woah)
They threw dirt, grew roots so pretty
Now the kid from the back row runnin’ the committee (uh)
Off the block, but the block still callin’
I was dead broke, now the bag keep fallin’
Same old name, new way I’m talkin’
From the cracks in the pavement to the top, still walkin’

rap, Gritty boom-bap meets modern trap bounce, male vocals. Dry, upfront lead rap with tight doubles on punchlines, subtle pitched-down ad-libs. Minimal eerie keys and a dusty sample in the verses; chorus brings in wide choir-style stacks and a heavier 808 glide. Energy climbs from head-nod groove to anthemic hook by the final chorus., hip hop