[INTRO – CORO YORÙBÁ (real, ritual)] “Ori mi gbe mi o… Ori mi gba mi o… Ase Ori mi… ma je n fò.” [VERSE 1 – Rapper / AAVE + gospel trauma] I came from a block where the prayers broke, pastor tapped out, but the night still spoke. Every shadow got a price, every silence got a bruise, kids learned quick how to bury what they lose. Fear on my jawline, heat in my chest, mama said “walk holy,” but the streets said “stress.” They put a cross on my back and a tag on my name, told me “boy, rise up,” while they tighten the chain. So I pressed my truth on the metal of my skin, every sin I laid bare made the sky cave in. You want salvation? Then bleed for the cost. Even angels get grime when the whole hood lost. ⸻ [PRE-DROP – Gospel quebrado] Ori mi, ṣe mi ní ire… Ori mi, gbe mi soke… Ori mi, ṣí mi ni ọ̀nà rere… Ori mi, má jẹ́ kí n ṣubú ⸻ [DROP – instrumental 7 seconds Industrial Ghetto Bass] ⸻ [CHORUS] My chains are still alive, nailed to a past I’ll never forgive; I drag old shadows with sharpened teeth, each one biting like it swore I shouldn’t live. Invisible threads tug at my steps, unnamed hands shaping where I go; I move slow, afraid of every motion, ’cause even the light feels like a foe. Oh Lord… what will become of me when tomorrow opens its mouth to swallow? If I fall before the dawn can find me, who’ll claim my soul when there’s no one left to follow? ⸻ [ANCESTRAL CHOIR – Yoruba Ritual (Egúngún real)] “Egúngún má wo mi o, Egúngún gbé wa; Awa omo egun, awa kò bẹ̀rù.” ⸻ [VERSE 2 – MUNTU//VOID (ancestral + AAVE + grieta)] My soul cracked open like clay in a drought, the void called back every name I left out. I walked with spirits carved from ruin and smoke, each one whisperin’, “you become what you broke.” The sky got teeth, the earth keep score, every step I take drags memory to the floor. I’m half-ancestor with an iron spine, a hymn made of metal and a ghost in the line. If heaven hit my phone, tell it hold that tone— I rise through the dirt ’cause the dirt my home. ⸻ ⸻ [CHOIR HIT] “Ori mi gba mi o…” My chains still breathe beneath me… “Egúngún gbé wa…” no light ahead, only memory…” [OUTRO VERSE – Void Lament] **And if the night outlives my voice, let the dust repeat my name in pieces. I’ve walked through echoes that never fade, through wounds that learned to breathe beneath me. If the void remembers who I was, tell it I never wanted to return. Some souls rise only to crumble again… and mine was born knowing it would burn.”** ⸻ [OUTRO – Whispered Yoruba] “…Ori mi gbe mi o…” (fade en polvo y distorsión)
