Yeah
'bout to enter
A new era of Harlem hip-hop
The streets of Harlem
They tell these stories to me

Struggle
Life movin' fast
Juggle
It's spiral now
That's my soul jumpin' over puddles
Walks down 110th
Whispers of lost lovers
We stand in the midst of the band's discovery
Temptation's just a calm life away from survival
Only thang stay in focus is my rival
Need you
Know what I mean
We shifted our tribe for a fiend
It was a trap but we alive
Need an electric boogaloo
Sippin' matcha tea in Malibu
Staying silent with the crew perhaps
The island be spinning last acts of greed
Gotta see that you may never be my speed

The streets of Harlem
They tell these stories told
With unpolished
Feel me
We gon' crack a code
Get that bag
And then we split it with the load
On Bodega cashers
They gon' know
The streets of Harlem
They tell these stories to me
Raw
From the heart
Straight organically
Get that bag
Then we split it with the family
Bodega cashers
They gon' see

Jump when them cops shout
Some came from outta town
And me
Right here been my home about thirty miles
From the central park
Harlem nights found a crown
Couple that got decrep' and shady with foul actions
I'm in the job that's got me screamin fuck rations
My two feet more than defeat over the soil
When parked up I'm getting spoiled
They had coals on 125th
It was real loyal
Bro goddamn
All of us are grinnin like
"What's your plan?"
Stayin solid down to it when we dead game's gettin a bit nuts
Even the air smellin' like glamour and envy
We bet not get stuck
But come and help us
When the universe give us the chance
We glowed up
New cloth
She said her grandma was elusive too
My gramps
Come see his tape too
He just turned dirt over with his right hand
Fill a pot with plants
Woke up the clan
Blue line

We stood where the air was thin
Hearts too full to let the silence in
You said “what now?” I said “this”
And kissed the doubt off your lips

If it breaks let it break
If it burns let it burn
We’ll rebuild with what remains
And call it ours

They’ll say we moved too fast
But the stars didn’t wait
The past was loud —
But now we’re awake

If it breaks let it break
If it burns let it burn
We’ll rebuild with what remains
And call it ours

Call it ours…
Even the ruins

You gave me praise with borrowed words
A polished smile for every turn
A front-row seat a painted name
A perfect pose a hollow game
I learned the rules I played my part
Held every cue against my heart
Then one small crack became a door
I do not need that stage anymore

Keep your medals keep your throne
I can build a life my own

Paper crown let it fall
It was never worth it all
Every cheer became a chain
Every win required my name
Paper crown hit the ground
Hear that honest simple sound
I step out I stand tall
You can keep your paper crown

You sold applause as if it cared
Counted every room I shared
Made my value fit a chart
Turned a person to a part
I know success can still be kind
When I decide what counts as mine
No public score no velvet rope
Can own my nerve or price my hope

Keep your medals keep your throne
I can build a life my own

Paper crown let it fall
It was never worth it all
Every cheer became a chain
Every win required my name
Paper crown hit the ground
Hear that honest simple sound
I step out I stand tall
You can keep your paper crown

I do not need a room to rise
I do not need their measured eyes
My worth survives without a vote
That is the line I choose to hold

Paper crown let it fall
It was never worth it all
Every cheer became a chain
Every win required my name
Paper crown hit the ground
Hear that honest simple sound
I step out I stand tall
You can keep your paper crown

Told me I’d regret it — guess I forgot
Living like a risk you never got
I’ve been spinning hours into peace
While you watch from your retreat

You sip on rules I drink the rain
You dress your truth in borrowed shame

I’m not the one who’s stuck in place
You paint your fear across my face
But I don’t flinch I don’t explain
I dance through thunder sing through pain
You call it chaos — I call it mine

You hold your breath and wait for grace
I jump first I don't brace
Maps never knew my way
Still I find more than you say

You sip on rules I drink the rain
You dress your truth in borrowed shame

I’m not the one who’s stuck in place
You paint your fear across my face
But I don’t flinch I don’t explain
I dance through thunder sing through pain
You call it chaos — I call it mine

Maybe I’m too much for your quiet
But I’m a riot you won’t forget

Keep your calm and curated days
I’ll be gone in brighter ways

Uuuh
Aaaa
I had the chalk I had the board
Thought I knew what I was fighting for

I mapped it out like a perfect line
Variables dancing in my mind
Tried to graph where you might be
But love don’t fit no geometry

Slopes and curves they lied to me
No formula for what you see
You’re that value off the grid
And I solved what no one ever did

Every X I tried to crack
Led me closer no way back
Thought I had it all misread
But you were waiting up ahead

You don’t know how many Xs I had to break
To get one inch closer to Y (uh-huh)
I carried numbers like they were names
Till the moment you met my eye (ooooh)
It’s a mess of signs and endless tries
But now your logic redefines (yeaaah)
You don’t know how many Xs I had to face
Just to solve for a single Y

(Uuh uuh — that single Y)
(Aaah all those Xs I tried)

Circle back erase the trace
You’re the answer that now holds its place
I tried dividing all the pain
But you were constant in the rain

Was it sine or just a sign?
You curved in at the perfect time
I drew a heart inside the square
And this time you were really there

I factored in the nights alone
Calculated love unknown
But this equation found its truth
When all the numbers pointed to you

I reduced and simplified
You multiplied what’s deep inside
Left the questions in the dust
Now the formula is us

You don’t know how many Xs I had to break
To find the one and only Y (yeah yeah)
I carried numbers like they were names
But you gave meaning to the why (no no)
It’s a mess of signs and endless tries
Now it all aligns no need to lie (uh-huh)
You don’t know how many Xs I had to face
Just to solve for a single Y

(Uuh that final Y)
(Aaaah no more Xs I…)

Maybe you were undefined
In the limits of my mind
An asymptote I chased in vain
Till you stood right in the frame

You don’t know how many Xs I had to break
To stand here holding onto Y
I carried numbers like they were weights
But now the answer meets the sky
The signs were loud the tries were wild
But now I see the reason why
You don’t know how many Xs I had to face
Just to know that Y was you

(Uuh you’re my Y)
(Aaaah it’s always been you)

So I drop the pen the work is done
You were the proof the only one
No more math no more try
You’re my answer — you’re my Y

He wore a beige suit
In the middle of June
Said he had answers
Coming very soon

He had a suitcase
Full of folded air
He sold umbrellas
When the sky was fair

Step right up
Don’t ask why
Every little cloud
Has a price to buy

He was the man who sold the rain
Sold it once
Then sold it again

He was the man who sold the rain
Everybody got wet
But nobody complained

He shook the mayor’s hand
With a plastic smile
Promised good weather
In a single-file

He made a chart
With a rising line
Said bad predictions
Were a warning sign

Step right up
Don’t ask why
Every little cloud
Has a price to buy

He was the man who sold the rain
Sold it once
Then sold it again

He was the man who sold the rain
Everybody got wet
But nobody complained

By the time they checked the contract
The ink had gone away
He left a little business card
That simply said: “Someday”

He was the man who sold the rain
Sold it once
Then sold it again

He was the man who sold the rain
Now they buy the thunder
And lease the hurricane

(Verse 1)
In the outskirts of the town where shadows loom tall
Ali walks with dreams though the odds seem to fall
From humble beginnings his spirit stands tall
In the midst of adversity he answers the call

(Chorus)
Hope in his eyes like a beacon in the night
Ali's story unfolds in the dimming light
Through trials and tribulations he finds his way
In the corner of the neighborhood where hope holds sway

(Verse 2)
With each passing day he carves his own path
Facing struggles head-on never fearing the wrath
From the dusty streets to the stars above
Ali's determination shines a testament of love

(Chorus)
Hope in his eyes like a beacon in the night
Ali's story unfolds in the dimming light
Through trials and tribulations he finds his way
In the corner of the neighborhood where hope holds sway

(Bridge)
Through laughter and tears he perseveres
Building castles of dreams conquering fears
For in his heart there burns a fire
A relentless drive to reach higher and higher

(Chorus)
Hope in his eyes like a beacon in the night
Ali's story unfolds in the dimming light
Through trials and tribulations he finds his way
In the corner of the neighborhood where hope holds sway

(Outro)
So let his tale be heard far and wide
Of a boy from the outskirts with hope as his guide
For in the darkest of nights he found his ray
In the kenar mahalle where dreams find their way

I used to leave the light on by the door
Kept your coffee warm like I had before
But you were always somewhere else in your mind

Left me talking to a ghost wasting my time
Folded all your lies like they were clean clothes

Put 'em in a drawer that's how this thing goes
I cried in the shower so you wouldn't hear
Now I don't even need to — baby I'm clear

I gave you rivers you gave me drought
Spent so long wondering what love's about
But the woman in the mirror finally spoke
Said "baby you're the fire — he was just smoke"

I'm not broken I'm just done
(yeah yeah)
I was the moon you were blocking my sun
(mmh)

You thought leaving me would make me fall apart
(uh uh)
Boy you left — but you didn't take my heart
No you didn't take my heart

(ohhh)

I see you now when you walk through the room
Different energy like you shed the gloom
I won't pretend that I don't feel the weight
Of every choice I made a little too late
(background whisper: "too late… too late…")
You were patient like a Sunday in June
I was reckless chased a different tune
And now I'm standing here on the outside damn
Watching you become everything you planned

She gave me rivers I gave her drought
Now I'm the one standing here in doubt
And the man in the mirror finally broke
Said "she was the fire — you were just smoke"

I'm not broken I'm just done
(let it go let it go)
I was the moon you were blocking my sun
(mmh yeah)
You thought leaving me would make me fall apart
(never that)
Boy you left — but you didn't take my heart
You didn't take my heart
(no no no…)

There were nights I almost called
(almost…)
Fingers on your name then I'd stall
(stall…)
But every time I stopped myself I grew
(grew…)

Into someone I love more than I loved you
(bass begins to swell)
More than I loved you
(mmh)
More — than — I — loved — you

(yeah)

I'm not broken I'm just new
(just new just new)
Everything I lost was just a clue
(clue ohhh)
You thought leaving me would dim my light
(can't dim this)
Boy you left —
(he left)
And baby I ignite
(I ignite I ignite)
I ig-nite
(ohhhh)
Mmmmh…
(still standing…)
Still standing

You moved like silence
Through a city I never named
I watched you from behind my eyes
But you never turned again

You whispered through closed doors
I answered with my breath
Some things are born too quiet
To survive the weight of steps

Time doesn’t fold it floats
Like fabric on your hands
We never chose this ending
We just… ran out of plans

If I find you again
Would you know who I became?
All that sand between our feet
Can’t hold the same name

We’re tracing cracks across the floor
Where we danced before the walls wore thin
Time doesn’t heal it just rearranges
And I’m still finding pieces of where we’ve been

You said forever but forever’s a lie
A shadow that lingers when the sun says goodbye
I’m holding on but I’m losing my grip
On the edge of a memory I let it slip

We built a world that couldn’t last
A house of cards in a hurricane’s path
Now I’m sifting through the aftermath
Of a love that burned too bright too fast
(Oh-oh-oh oh-oh-oh)

The clock keeps ticking but it feels so slow
Every second’s a weight I can’t let go
I see your face in every crowded room
A ghost of a love that met its doom

You said forever but forever’s a lie
A shadow that lingers when the sun says goodbye
I’m holding on but I’m losing my grip
On the edge of a memory I let it slip

We built a world that couldn’t last
A house of cards in a hurricane’s path
Now I’m sifting through the aftermath
Of a love that burned too bright too fast
(Oh-oh-oh oh-oh-oh)

And if I could turn back the hands
Would I choose to love you again?
Or let the silence win
And never begin?

We built a world that couldn’t last
A house of cards in a hurricane’s path
Now I’m sifting through the aftermath
Of a love that burned too bright too fast
(Oh-oh-oh oh-oh-oh)

I’m tracing cracks across the floor
But I can’t find us there anymore