Intro
Chalk dust on my knuckles, change jingling deep
Kilo Vantage back, told you doubt don't keep
(yeah) let the record spin
Verse
Corner store courtside, milk crate for a rim
Coach said I was too slow, too small, too thin
Wrote it on a napkin, kept it folded in my sock
Every missed shot taught my wrist a different clock
Momma worked doubles, I worked doorknobs and blocks
Learned to count my blessings by the change in that lock box
Uncle sold that dream cheap, I bought mine on layaway
Interest paid in sweat drops on a Tuesday in May
They said "stay in your lane," I built a whole highway
Chalk on my palms now, ledger balanced my way
Every "no" a brick, stacked 'em till they made a wall
Now that wall's a stage and I ain't scared to fall
Scraped knees on the pavement, turned it into pavement art
Every scar a sentence, every bruise a chart
I don't rap for likes, I rap for that kid still counting
Nickels in a jar, dreaming past the mountain
Chorus
Chalk dust and change, that's the sound I came from
Empty pockets, full heart, that's the song I sang from
They bet against the odds, I bet against the doubt
Chalk dust and change, watch me turn it inside out
Verse
Second verse, same hunger, different kind of hungry now
Got investors calling, still remember every "how"
"How you gon' make it rappin' bout some milk crate hoops"
Watch me turn that skepticism into cash coupes
Traded bus passes for a leather seat that hugs
Still keep a nickel in my pocket like a lucky bug
Reminder where I started, keeps my head out the clouds
Success is quiet money, doubt was always loud
I remember teachers saying "this ain't realistic"
Now I'm realistic proof, statistically sadistic
To the odds they laid against me, stacked like index cards
Flip 'em over, every failure just a business card
Momma got that house now, chalk turned into charm
Every doubter's silence is the loudest kind of calm
I ain't gloating, I'm reporting, documenting the climb
Chalk dust never settles, it just changes over time
Chorus
Chalk dust and change, that's the sound I came from
Empty pockets, full heart, that's the song I sang from
They bet against the odds, I bet against the doubt
Chalk dust and change, watch me turn it inside out
Bridge
Funny how the same hands that they said would never write
Signed the deal that proved 'em wrong under courtroom light
Funny how the mouth they said would never rhyme correct
Now recites the lesson every doubter should collect
It ain't revenge, it's arithmetic, addition of the years
Subtracting every naysayer, multiplying tears to cheers
Outro
Chalk dust on my knuckles, still counting up the change
Every doubt's a deposit in the bank of my name
Kilo Vantage, story told, ledger closed, we good
Chalk dust and change, exactly how I said I would
