[Intro] Everything I got… I paid for in pain. Not dollars. Pain. [Verse 1] Paid in pain, I got receipts in my chest, every scar got a date, every loss got a debt. You see the shine, not the nights I was shaking, see the smile, not the soul that was breaking. I had to learn the hard way, slow way, cold way, had to crawl through a storm with no doorway. Had to watch friends switch, had to watch blood spill, had to see fake love dressed up real. I wanted fast money because slow hope hurt, wanted clean dreams standing in dirty-ass work. Wanted to be somebody before I knew myself, so I stacked bad choices on a broken shelf. Now I’m older, every flex feel different, can’t enjoy a win if your spirit still missing. Can’t call it success if you can’t sleep right, can’t call it strength if you scared of the light. [Hook] I paid in pain, not gold, not chains, not cars, not clothes, not internet fame. I paid in nights where I damn near died, paid in tears that I kept inside. Paid in pain, let the 808 bang, let the blues guitar scream my name. I came from mud, I came through rain, everything I am, I paid in pain. [Verse 2] They ask why my voice sound cracked when I rap, because I’m holding back graves in every track. They ask why the bass hit hard in the trunk, because quiet don’t work when your heart been jumped. They ask why I curse like I got no manners, because pain don’t speak proper when it finally gets answers. I ain’t here to be pretty, I’m here to be true, to make every damn speaker bleed black and blue. I want the platinum plaques, but I want purpose first, want my worst days turned into somebody’s church. Not perfect church, not suit-and-tie lies, but the kind where street boys can finally cry. Where a woman can heal from loving a man lost, where a youngin can choose life before lines get crossed. Where the bass make you nod, but the words make you think, where the truth hit harder than the liquor you drink. [Bridge] Pain paid the bill, pain signed the lease. Pain kept me moving, pain stole my peace. But pain ain’t my owner, pain ain’t my name. I’m turning this hurt into flame. [Final Hook] I paid in pain, not gold, not chains, not cars, not clothes, not internet fame. I paid in nights where I damn near died, paid in tears that I kept inside. Paid in pain, let the 808 bang, let the blues guitar scream my name. I came from mud, I came through rain, everything I am, I paid in pain. [Outro] Yeah… Paid in full. But I still owe myself peace.
