Same Block, New Scars

Intro

Same porch light, same cracked step, same five shadows tall

Different scars on different arms but we answer the same call

Ledger's in my chest pocket, every debt paid in loyalty

Same block raised us rough but it never raised us lonely

Verse

Ten years old, split a popsicle three ways with a butter knife

Kept the wrapper in my pocket like it sealed a pact for life

Dre took a curfew violation that was really mine to hold

Said the block don't forget faces but it damn sure forgets cold

Momma's rent short in December, envelope showed up complete

Nobody signed a name to it, just footprints in the sleet

Cousin called us reckless, said the crew'll drag me down

I said watch how we hold the weight when the whole block sinking down

Cracked windshield, four of us stuffed in a two-door hatchback

Splitting gas money in nickels, still made it and made it back

Tay got jumped on Fillmore, we came running like the sirens

Left our own doors open, ain't stop to check who's inside them

Every scar tells a story but the stories all connect

Same block wrote our names down before we earned respect

Uncle said cut ties, said the weak link drags the strong

I said the chain don't break here, it just gets stitched and moves along

Chorus

Same block, new scars, but the loyalty don't fade

Same hands, same hearts, in the promise that we made

Count the cracks in the pavement, count the ones who stayed

Same block, new scars, and the debt still gets repaid

Verse

Sixteen, split a stolen bike lock with a paperclip and prayer

Rio held the flashlight while I fixed what wasn't there

Landlord posted eviction, we posted lyrics right beside

Turned the hallway into a chorus, turned the shame into pride

Every winter something breaks, every summer someone bleeds

Still we split the harvest even when the harvest barely feeds

Watched my brother take a plea to keep a stranger's name off record

Said that's just the tax we pay, said loyalty's the only currency

Coach said talent leaves this block the second that it can

I said talent stays right here and builds the block a better plan

Buried Jamal's father, six of us carried the box

Split the flowers, split the silence, split the weight like it was rocks

New scar on my knuckle from a fight that wasn't mine

Old scar on my conscience from the ones I left behind

Uncle called it foolish, said the crew's a dying breed

I said watch us plant new roots in the same old bleeding seed

Chorus

Same block, new scars, but the loyalty don't fade

Same hands, same hearts, in the promise that we made

Count the cracks in the pavement, count the ones who stayed

Same block, new scars, and the debt still gets repaid

Bridge

Funny how the new scars look just like the old ones healed

Funny how the same five names keep showing up for real

Ain't about the corner, ain't about the reputation

It's the porch light staying on for the whole damn generation

Outro

Same block, new scars, count 'em like they're medals