[Intro]
Grinding every night, just to make it right
Bills keep stacking up, can't sleep, that's my life
[Verse 1]
Night shift graveyard, punching in again
Empty pockets, empty dreams, where do I begin?
COVID hit the streets, now we all in masks
Working underground, doing what they ask
Linnea showed me tricks that kept me alive
When the system failed, man, we had to dive
Into that dark shit, yeah, we crossed the line
But survival ain't pretty when you're doing time
[Chorus]
Hustle hard or die trying, that's the code
Factory lights burning, walking down this road
Ain't no shame in my game, gotta eat
System broke us down, but we still on our feet
[Verse 2]
Erik taught me well, now I'm running plays
Legal to illegal, blurred up in this haze
F*ck a 9-to-5 when they paying slave wages
Rather risk it all than be stuck in these cages
Streets don't sleep and neither do I
Dignity's expensive, that ain't no lie
Got my hands dirty, yeah, I ain't proud
But I'd rather eat than join the hungry crowd
[Chorus]
Hustle hard or die trying, that's the code
Factory lights burning, walking down this road
Ain't no shame in my game, gotta eat
System broke us down, but we still on our feet
[Outro]
Machines keep turning, while we keep burning
Survival's the lesson that we keep learning
F*ck what they tell you 'bout playing it straight
When you're born at the bottom, you can't hesitate