GATES OF HELL [Intro] [dry kick drum, crisp snare, sub-bass] [spoken word — low register, deadpan, slightly distorted] Preparing me for the gates of hell… I can’t wait. I feel like it’s been so long since I’ve been able to escape. And never will I fucking ever— Motherfucker, try me whenever. I’m bringing that metal, that heavy level. I don’t know what the fuck, man… This shit whack as fuck. [beat cuts] [whisper] Run it back. [beat drops] [Verse 1] [clean electric guitar — muted chords, heavy drums underneath] Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah— Come through, check it. One, two, check it, one, two, check. I came through with the pressure, no need for the flexing, Every lesson left a scar, every scar left a message. I don’t talk for attention, I talk from experience, Turn pain into presence, now the room gotta feel it. Had to crawl through the fire just to figure my temperature, Now I’m calm under pressure, that’s a different competitor. They was waiting on a breakdown, I was building infrastructure, Piece by piece, brick by brick, now the whole thing’s muscular. I don’t need a fucking crown, I just need my respect, If I said I’m coming through, then I’m coming correct. Still got smoke in my lungs, still got weight on my chest, But I learned how to breathe with the world on my neck. So check it— One, two, check. If the beat got a pulse, I’ma put it to rest. No gimmicks, no pretending, no performance for the press, Just a man with a mic and some shit to confess. [Hook] [808 drops harder — distorted bass, layered low vocals] I been walking through the fire, I ain’t scared of the flame. They keep throwing dirt on me, I keep carving my name. If the gates open wide, I’ma walk through ’em straight. I done lived through the pressure, I was built for the weight. Hell can’t hold me, I done been through worse. Pain tried to bury me, I made it rehearse. Tell ‘em open up the doors, let ‘em open the gates. If I’m headed down below, I’ma make hell shake. [Post-Hook] [half-time drums] Make hell shake. Make hell shake. [low ad-lib] Yeah. Make hell shake. Make hell shake. [Verse 2] [drums become more frantic — guitar distorted around the edges] I got a chip on my shoulder and a point to establish, They confuse being quiet with a lack of reactions. I’m a product of pressure, every fracture got traction, Every time I got cracked, I came back with expansion. Now I’m past being patient, past explaining the basics, Past giving my energy to people that fake it. I can smell hesitation, I can see desperation, Everybody got a plan when they think you ain’t dangerous. I don’t bark for the camera, I don’t pose for applause, I just sharpen the blade of whatever I’m flawed. Got a mind full of madness, but I’m steering it straight, Turn the rage into rhythm, turn the fear into faith. I’ve been down in the basement, where the ceiling felt low, Had to fight with myself just to see where I’d go. Now the ceiling ain’t shit, I’ma tear through the roof, If the truth got a price, I’ma pay it in full. [Hook] [full drums + distorted 808] I been walking through the fire, I ain’t scared of the flame. They keep throwing dirt on me, I keep carving my name. If the gates open wide, I’ma walk through ’em straight. I done lived through the pressure, I was built for the weight. Hell can’t hold me, I done been through worse. Pain tried to bury me, I made it rehearse. Tell ‘em open up the doors, let ‘em open the gates. If I’m headed down below, I’ma make hell shake. [Bridge] [beat strips down — kick, bass pulse, guitar harmonics] Don’t tell me about pressure. I know pressure. Don’t tell me about darkness. I know darkness. Don’t tell me about losing. I know losing. I just learned… How to keep moving. [beat stops] [low voice] That’s the difference. [beat SLAMS back in] [Verse 3] [fast aggressive delivery — double-time pockets] Now I’m back with the venom, but the venom got purpose, I was digging through the dirt trying to find what was worth it. Every failure was a furnace, every furnace was working, Every person that betrayed me left the lesson uncovered. Now I’m looking at the past like, “You really thought you broke me?” Nah. You just showed me what the fuck I wasn’t supposed to be. I ain’t running from the monster, I became my own warning, Turned the worst of my nights into fuel for the morning. No sleep, no peace, just a beat and a reason, I was fighting with myself through the changing of seasons. Now the heartbeat syncs with the kick and the snare, Put the weight on my back— I can carry it there. I’ma walk through the smoke, I’ma breathe through the fire, I’ma climb every wall that was built to get higher. If the road leads down, then I’m taking it lower, If the world wants war with my dreams, I’m a soldier— Not for somebody’s approval, not for somebody’s throne, I survived every version of the man I outgrew. So when hell starts calling, tell ’em leave me a message. I got one thing to say— [beat cuts]
