Lyrics
[verse]
Started with lint in my pocket, dreams in my chest
Block full of noise but I still passed the test
Every closed door taught me how to pick locks
Every empty fridge made me sharper than the clock
Momma said stay low, but I had to reach high
Traded the corner talk for a seat in the sky
Piano's playing sad but my mind's on the come up
Every no I banked just to fund the run up
[chorus]
Down and out, but I never stayed there long
Turned the hunger in my gut into a battle song
Down and out, but I built it brick by brick
Now the same streets that doubted me can't explain the trick
[verse]
I remember counting coins on a kitchen table
Now the numbers different, still the same old fable
Loyalty first, that's the code that I ride with
Same five faces that I started the grind with
They said it wouldn't work, said the odds too steep
Said a kid like me only good for the streets
But I turned that low ground into a launching pad
Every setback just made the comeback twice as bad
[chorus]
Down and out, but I never stayed there long
Turned the hunger in my gut into a battle song
Down and out, but I built it brick by brick
Now the same streets that doubted me can't explain the trick
[bridge]
It ain't about the shine, it's about the climb
It ain't about the clock, it's about the time
You put in when nobody's watching close
That's when the real foundation shows
[chorus]
Down and out, but I never stayed there long
Turned the hunger in my gut into a battle song
Down and out, but I built it brick by brick
Now the same streets that doubted me can't explain the trick
