(mmm... yeah...) [Verse 1] Neon bleeding through the window like a secret Smoke curls slow, I let the silence keep it I used to run these streets just chasing somebody's shadow Now I'm the one they whisper 'bout in every shady hallway Used to dress for rooms that never saw me Begging for a seat while they were busy erasing me Traded my reflection for a borrowed kind of shine Didn't know the empire I was building was mine [Pre-Chorus] So I stopped asking, started taking Every mirror finally breaking Now the city knows my name, ain't nobody faking [Hook/Chorus] Rain on the glass like a code I'm deciphering The city is screaming, the silence is deafening I used to be thirsty for seats at their table Until I realized I'm the one built the label [Verse 2] Watch 'em circle back now that I don't need the room Funny how the hunger shifts when you stop chasing the moon They wanted access, wanted proof, wanted my name on the door I'm the architecture now, baby, I ain't asking for more Every scar's a signature, every no's a design I stopped begging for the crown, I just carved out mine Let 'em study the blueprint, let 'em learn from the fall I was never in the crowd — I was building the wall [Pre-Chorus] So I stopped asking, started taking Every mirror finally breaking Now the city knows my name, ain't nobody faking [Chorus] Rain on the glass like a code I'm deciphering The city is screaming, the silence is deafening I used to be thirsty for seats at their table Until I realized I'm the one built the label [Bridge] (quiet now) No more asking permission to shine No more waiting in somebody else's line I read the city like braille in the dark Found my name already tattooed on the mark [Final Chorus] Rain on the glass like a code I'm deciphering (I got it now) The city is screaming, the silence is deafening (I hear it all) I used to be thirsty for seats at their table (not anymore) Until I realized I'm the one built the label [Outro] (built the label... yeah... built it myself)
