We Ride

Intro

yaaah, ayy, yeah (yuh)

cut the lights, cut the noise, come on (skrrt)

uh-huh, uh-huh, yeah

Verse

I was fourteen with a skateboard and a chip on my chin, ayy (yuh)

Mama worked two shifts, papa gone, I learned to grin, ayy

School halls loud but I felt quieter than a secret, (shh) I kept it

Neighbors talk like they know the score, they never met it

Picked up a name that fit like a glove, then I fit in, (fit in)

Leather jacket, chipped teeth smile, feel the grit in

Pavement taught me how to hustle for respect, not rent, no

Broken street signs taught me how to bend, not break, bro

We traded dares for dog tags, laughter for a ledger

Money in the pocket, but the mind got cleverer

I learned the handshake, learned the code, learned the time to duck (duck)

Learned the way a whisper turns into a trumpet, (trumpet) watch it erupt

Ain't no handbook, just a hunger and some bad advice

We swear loyalty, we swear revenge, yeah we roll the dice

My temper short, my temper loud, I wear it like a crown, (crown)

Young blood, cold streets, we spin the block, we own the town (own it)

Pre-chorus

I don't ask for mercy, I collect my dues (collect it)

Anger is a currency, I trade my blues (trade it)

They say I'm reckless, they don't know the nights I lost

I keep my circle tight, I count the cost (count it)

Chorus

We ride, we ride, we ride (we ride) — yeah, we ride (we ride)

We ride, we ride, we ride (we ride) — yeah, we ride (uh)

We ride, we ride, we ride (we ride) — yeah, we ride (skrrt)

We ride, we ride, we ride (we ride) — yeah, we ride (ayy)

Verse

Cold-knuckled promises carved into a wrist, ayy (yuh)

Street sermons in a ditch where the moon don't miss, ayy

My friends turned to brothers, some brothers turned to targets

I learned to move like shadows move—fast, heartless

Smokestack breath, cheap cologne, we parade the night (parade)

Flashes on the corner tell the story of our fight (uh)

I rap my anger in the margins of a notebook, scribble, (scribble)

Teachers talk about potential like the word's a riddle

Hunger in my ribs like an animal that's never fed, (never fed)

I sleep with one eye open, count the promises we said

When the world gives you a blank page, we ink it with a name

When the law points fingers, we point back with flame

No manual for regret, we improvise the scars

We say "for life" but we mean tonight under the stars (tonight)

Screaming in the alley, yeah, we claim it with a grin, (grin)

Raw laugh, raw line, raw life, where the sin begins

Pre-chorus

I don't need permission to be loud, (loud)

I don't need a reason to stand proud, (stand)

We stack our nightmares into armor, call it youth, call it proof

We keep moving forward with a crooked tooth

Chorus

We ride, we ride, we ride (we ride) — yeah, we ride (yeah)

We ride, we ride, we ride (we ride) — yeah, we ride (uh-huh)

We ride, we ride, we ride (we ride) — yeah, we ride (skrrt)