Built From The Ground

(Intro)
I spent years chasing money, chasing a name...
Never realized I was running from my pain.

(Verse 1)
Young with a heart full of anger and rage,
Trying to escape what was locked in my cage.
Wanted respect, wanted power, wanted fame,
Never saw the price that came with the game.

Stolen cars, jewelry, money on display,
Thought I found freedom but I threw it away.
Bottles and women trying to numb what I felt,
Lost in the darkness, losing myself.

Powder in my veins, pills to escape,
Digging my grave with every mistake.
Mama saw the storm, she knew I was blind,
I was fighting the world while destroying my mind.

Thought I was a king sitting high on the throne,
But the streets leave you empty when you're standing alone.

(Hook)
I hit rock bottom, then I built from the ground,
Lost everything just to finally be found.
Turned my scars into lessons I earned,
Had to lose myself before my soul returned.

Eight years locked away, staring at my mistakes,
Breaking down walls that I built from the pain.
I walked through the fire, came out changed,
Real freedom starts when you master your brain.

Now I build, now I create,
No longer controlled by the man I was yesterday.
My past ain't a prison, it's part of my road,
The more I healed, the lighter my load.

(Verse 2)
Concrete walls showed me who I really was,
No more excuses, no more running because.
No place to hide, no one left to blame,
Just me and the reflection staring back in my face.

Watched years pass through a prison sky,
Asked myself if I wasted my life.
Then I learned every wound had a reason,
Every dark night carried a season.

I rebuilt my mind, rebuilt my soul,
Buried the anger that controlled my whole.
The streets never loved me, they loved what I gave,
The moment I fell, they walked away.

In the silence I found what I couldn't see,
The biggest battle was always with me.

(Hook)
I hit rock bottom, then I built from the ground,
Lost everything just to finally be found.
Turned my scars into lessons I earned,
Had to lose myself before my soul returned.

Eight years locked away, staring at my mistakes,
Breaking down walls that I built from the pain.
I walked through the fire, came out changed,
Real freedom starts when you master your brain.

(Bridge)
The same hands that once took now create something real,
The same heart that was broken learned how to heal.
I traded fast money for a life with meaning,
Found my purpose when I stopped pretending.

I can't change the chapters that made me who I am,
But I can use those pages to help someone stand.
The old me had to fall so the new me could rise,
My pain gave me vision, my struggle gave eyes.

(Verse 3)
Now my son sees a man who refuses to quit,
Not the reckless kid who was lost in the mix.
Every scar tells a story, every mark left proof,
Sometimes you find yourself when you face the truth.

The streets don't love you, they take what you bring,
Real wealth ain't diamonds, it's peace within.
It's waking up knowing you're proud of your name,
Not hiding from mirrors or running from shame.

I can't erase my past, and I don't need to try,
That old version of me is the reason I survived.
The man I am now was built through the pain,
I lost who I was just to find my way.

(Final Hook)
I hit rock bottom, nowhere left to fall,
Sometimes losing yourself helps you find it all.
Eight years turned a boy into a man,
Now I'm building the life I always dreamed I could have.

I don't wear my past, I wear what it taught,
Every battle, every lesson, every war that I fought.
I rewrote my story, changed my direction,
Found my freedom through self-reflection.