TEN TOES [Intro – Dark piano, distant city ambience, low bass rumble] [Spoken – Deep, calm, serious] Yeah… Everybody got a struggle. Everybody got a story. Ain’t about where you come from… It’s about what you been through. Ten toes. [808 DROP] [Verse 1 – Aggressive rhythmic flow, deep chest voice] Yeah, I’m white and I rap, ain’t tryna steal nobody’s culture, We all in the struggle, got the weight upon our shoulders. Out in these streets, everybody tryna hustle, Some of us make it, some get buried in the struggle. Some of us don’t, and some of us do, Everybody got a story, everybody got a truth. I ain’t tryna be nobody, I’m just doing what I do, Ten toes to the pavement, getting bread and pushing through. Bills keep coming, ain’t a damn thing free, Forty hours ain’t enough in this economy. They say money ain’t everything, that’s easy when you got it, Try telling that to somebody with three dollars in their pocket. I been working all week, still ain’t getting ahead, Got a thousand different worries running circles in my head. Ain’t asking for a handout, ain’t begging for a throne, I’m just tryna make a living, build something of my own. [Pre-Chorus – Drums pull back, haunting piano] I done seen some dark days, felt the weight of the rain, Had to learn to keep moving when nobody felt my pain. They can talk about my life, they don’t know what I became, I ain’t folding under pressure, put respect upon my name. [Chorus – Full 808s, commanding rhythmic delivery] BEARD GANG! Beard gang, ten toes, standing through the rain, Heavy on my shoulders, I ain’t folding from the pain. Got a smile on my face, got some demons in my brain, If you made it through the struggle, put some respect upon my name. [Verse 2 – Darker beat, tighter and faster flow] Now we all slaves to the system, they getting rich off our backs, Working forty-plus a week, still struggling to stack. Just seen a dude selling crack, another doing the fent lean, Watching people lose themselves right in front of me. Feel sorry for ‘em, but they made their own decisions, Everybody fighting battles, everybody living different. I ain’t saying I’m a saint, got my own mistakes to own, But I’m ten toes in the dirt, tryna build something of my own. Downtown St. Louis, seen the bricks falling down, Empty windows staring at a once-bustling town. Graffiti on the walls, weeds growing through the cracks, Kinda like the working man, carrying the world upon his back. Ain’t nobody coming to save us, gotta make another move, Every dollar got a purpose, every loss got something to prove. Seen the rich get richer while the poor keep getting taxed, They keep telling us we’re free while we’re breaking our damn backs. [Chorus – Hard delivery, doubled vocals on final words] BEARD GANG! Beard gang, ten toes, standing through the rain, Heavy on my shoulders, I ain’t folding from the pain. Got a smile on my face, got some demons in my brain, If you made it through the struggle, put some respect upon my name. [Bridge – Beat cuts, spoken rhythmic delivery, intimate] Look… I ain’t perfect. Never said I was. I got bills, I got scars, I got people that I love. Got some things I can’t change, Got some nights I can’t forget. But I’m still standing here… And I ain’t finished yet. [Final Verse – Faster flow, building aggression] I ain’t chasing no clout, I ain’t chasing no fame, Just a man with a voice and a whole lotta pain. Got a job, got a dream, got some weight on my chest, Every morning I get up, give this life another test. They don’t see the exhaustion when I’m walking through the door, They don’t see the sacrifices or what I’m fighting for. Everybody wants the money, everybody wants the shine, Nobody wants the struggle or the overtime. So I’m stacking what I can, putting work behind my name, Ain’t ashamed of where I’m from, ain’t ashamed of what I claim. You can judge me all you want, you ain’t walking in my shoes, I done paid for every lesson, got the scars to show the proof. [Final Chorus – Biggest bass drop, aggressive vocals] BEARD GANG! Beard gang, ten toes, standing through the rain, Heavy on my shoulders, I ain’t folding from the pain. Got a smile on my face, got some demons in my brain, If you made it through the struggle, put some respect upon my name. [Outro – Beat fades, lone piano] [Spoken – Low, exhausted, determined] We all got a struggle… Some make it. Some don’t. Me? I’m still standing. Ten toes.
