[G Rate | Male Rap Lead | Street Testifier | Controlled Aggression | Dry Close Spoken Delivery] [Smooth | Male Melodic Voice | Soulful Witness | Warm Conviction | Smooth Elastic Phrasing] [Intro] [G Rate] Yeah... I got a testament to give. [G Rate] A Concrete testament. Let me tell you where it come from. [Verse 1 | G Rate] Grew up where the struggle wasn't metaphor, it was Tuesday Grew up where the bills came faster than the music Grew up on the corner, on the block, on the stoop Every lesson that I learned came the hardest way, the truth I been through the arcade dreamin', through the boulevard cruisin' Through the siren and the ballot, through the choosin' and the losin' But I'm still here, still standin', still writin' out my name On the sidewalk, on the block, in the rhythm, in the flame [Hook | G Rate | Smooth] [Dual Testimony | Explosive Conviction | Clipped Attack into Sustained Melodic Lift] [G Rate] This my concrete testament, written in the pain [Smooth] This my concrete testament, risin' like the rain [G Rate] Every struggle, every love, every family, every fight [Both] This my concrete testament, and I'm testifyin' tonight [Verse 2 | Smooth] Momma taught me sacrifice before I knew the word Taught me love ain't loud, it's the quiet, it's unheard Taught me culture is the corner store, the block, the beat Taught me every Sunday dinner is a kind of street I love this life the way a choir loves a note I love this culture like a verse I never wrote Politics and heartbreak, celebration and the grind All of it a testament, all of it is mine [Hook | G Rate | Smooth] repeat [Bridge 1 | G Rate | Street Preacher | Rising Controlled Aggression | Clipped Declarative Delivery] [G Rate] I said the system fail us — somebody hear me? [Smooth, Warm Affirmation, Sustained Vowels] I hear you... I hear you... [G Rate] I said the system fail us, and I meant it. [Smooth, sung] Yeah, you meant it... [G Rate] I said the mother sacrificed — you hear me talkin'? [Smooth] I'm listenin'... [G Rate] I said the mother sacrificed, and I felt it, I felt every bit of it. [Smooth, sung, rising] Every bit of it... [G Rate] I said the culture raised us — can I get a witness in the room? [Smooth, full voice, melodic] I'm a witness! I'm a witness! [G Rate] I said the culture raised us, and I lived it, I'm still livin' it. [Both] Still livin' it! [Verse 3 | G Rate | Smooth] [Shared Celebration | Loosened Joy | Alternating Clipped and Sung Phrasing] [G Rate] But it ain't all struggle, it ain't all the weight [Smooth] Sometimes the block just parties, sometimes the night is great [G Rate] Sometimes it's just the corner store and a summer night [Smooth] Sometimes it's just my people and the streetlamp light [G Rate] Sometimes the testament is joy, is dance, is song [Smooth] Sometimes the testament is knowin' that we made it this long [Both] So pour it out, pour it up, let the good times ring This concrete testament is every single thing [Bridge 2 | G Rate into Smooth | Handoff to the Choir] [Building Intensity Resolving into Release | Clipped Escalation, Sustained Release] [G Rate] So I'm testifyin'. Right here. Right now. [G Rate] And if you feel it — if you feel one word of what I'm sayin' — [Smooth, melodic, rising] Let the choir carry it home. [Hook | Male Rap Lead + Male Melodic Voice + Full Choir] [Dual Testimony | Explosive Conviction, Biggest | Clipped Attack into Sustained Melodic Lift] [G Rate] This my concrete testament, written in the pain [Smooth] This my concrete testament, risin' like the rain [G Rate] Every struggle, every love, every family, every fight [Both + Choir] This my concrete testament, and I'm testifyin' tonight [Outro | G Rate | Smooth] [Closing Testimony | Quiet Conviction | Dry Close into Sustained Fade] [G Rate] That's my testament. Concrete testament. [Smooth] Can you feel it?
