The Neighborhood Raised Us [Spoken Intro — deep male voice] Nobody ever sat us down… and explained the world. We just watched it. We learned what people did. We learned what people feared. We learned what kept people alive. And sometimes… what kept you alive… wasn’t what helped you grow. [Beat drops] ⸻ [Verse 1] We learned to plead five before we could count to ten Learned which words could save you before we learned how to defend No strangers No snitches Know the code Know the names Know who stood beside you when the whole block knew your pain Hands where they can see them when the blue lights appear Young enough to need protection old enough to understand fear Didn’t choose the zip code Didn’t choose the reputation Born into a story before we chose the narration ⸻ [Pre-Chorus] The first world you know… feels like the whole world. The first rules you learn… feel like the only rules. ⸻ [Chorus] The neighborhood raised us before we knew what raised meant Gave us armor for the battlefield never showed us where the gate went We weren’t born with these defenses we inherited the shield Trying to find out who we are… under everything we learned to feel ⸻ [Verse 2] Some kids learned piano some kids learned the game Some learned how to dream big some learned how to avoid pain Some learned keep your head down some learned don’t trust a soul Some learned the world was open Some learned the world had holes We didn’t wake up hardened we were shaped by what we saw Every lesson had a reason every lesson had a cost ⸻ [Bridge — beat strips down] A child doesn’t question the house… that raised them. They call it home. A child doesn’t question the language… they hear every day. They call it normal. ⸻ [Final Chorus] The neighborhood raised us… gave us scars and gave us names Taught us how to stand up before we knew another way Some lessons kept us breathing Some lessons held us back Growing up is finding out… which ones you carry… and which ones you leave back ⸻ [Outro — female voice, calm] If you inherited the same beginning… would you have written a different story?
