O'Block for Life

Intro

O'Block for life, O'Block for life (yeah)

O'Block for life, O'Block for life (uh)

Heh, ah, ay

Verse

Grew up on the corner where the world felt loud, (yeah)

Mama said keep your head down, but stand up proud, (stand up)

Blocks taught me lessons that the books never taught, (never taught)

Lost friends to the nights and the choices they brought, (gone)

We played in the rain, we ran through the summer heat, (run, run)

Swore we'd change the story with those little feet, (feet)

Concrete classrooms, chalk lines on the stoop, (stoop)

Old man on the porch said "boy, learn your truth," (learn it)

We learned how to hustle without breaking our name, (name)

Learned how to hope while carrying the pain, (uh)

Cousins with medals that they never got to wear, (never)

Photos on mantels, we still talk to the air, (talk)

I promise to hold what they left in my hands, (hold)

Turn grief into bridges, turn plans into plans, (plans)

No bait for the anger, no trophy for rage, (no)

Just vows on the pavement we keep page by page, (page)

Skrrt of the bus and the laughter from stoops, (skrrt)

Old cassette rhythms, our own kind of truth, (truth)

Kids on the block learning how to stand taller, (taller)

Neighbors turning tables so the future's a little fuller, (fuller)

We pass down necklaces of lessons, not chains, (not chains)

Plant seeds in the alleys so hope grows again, (grow)

Mama's voice steady when the night felt cold, (cold)

Said "do right by the ones you love, be bold," (be bold)

So I lace up these words like shoes on my feet, (feet)

Walk steady, walk soft, let love lead the beat, (lead)

Pre-chorus

O'Block in my blood, O'Block in my bones, (bones)

Paper on tables, but we built homes, (built homes)

Keep the names alive, keep the stories tight, (tight)

We move forward, we hold on, we fight for light, (light)

Chorus

O'Block for life, O'Block for life, (O'Block)

O'Block for life, O'Block for life, (hold me down)

O'Block for life, O'Block for life, (yeah, yeah)

O'Block for life, O'Block for life, (let's go)

Verse

Remember the block parties, the stern calls of dawn, (dawn)

The laughter that lingered after the last song was gone, (gone)

I seen wallets thin but generosity thick, (thick)

Folks share what they had when the chips got picked, (share)

We learned to fix doors, not just lock 'em up tight, (fix)

Teach the kids how to read, how to stand in the light, (read)

Cut the grass for old Mrs. Lane on the hill, (love)

Showed that small hands can turn grit into will, (will)

I carry the names that my lips never forget, (never)

The echo of laughter, the Sunday sunset, (sunset)

We ain't perfect, we break and we mend, (mend)

But every wound tells a lesson and a friend, (friend)

No glam for the violence, no glam for the loss, (no glam)

Just vows to the future like fingerprints on a cross, (vows)

Put tools in the hands of the ones who will build, (build)

Create