Have you ever been knocked down / beat up
Passed over / pulled under / never felt enough
Didn’t make the team, cut, bruised, battered, seen blood
Stood in front of a crowd full of mean mugs

Ever felt like you dropped the ball
Like you missed the call, like you hit the wall
Like you tried to start but could only stall
Like you tried to walk but could only fall

I’ve seen it all, like I didn’t do enough
Like I tried and I failed and I let myself down
All I ever wanted was a little applause
And to make my friends and family so proud

It’s so loud, all these critics hatin’
But most of them live inside my head
Every day the only thing that keeps me going
Is the commitment to make a difference before I’m dead

I mean what I said, gotta flip a switch
Gotta keep on runnin’ til I make it through the dip
Can’t see a stumble as a set back
Sumpin’ moves me forward then I’ll never regret that

I gotta get bad if I wanna get better
Takin’ that L means more to learn
Whenever you don’t get what you want
You get something more valuable in return

What can I do to find a spark
Even if it brings the pain
Even if the fire’s burning
Gotta find a way to use the flame

Friction makes the spark that lights the match that sets the wood ablaze
We’ll never rise above the ash until we see the good in flames
It takes some pain to gain some growth
Takes some shame to gain some hope
Takes ditch diggers, big rivers, and a hose before you can go and drain that moat

I quote the past like an avalanche that I can ride till I reach the base
I feel the weight of my mistakes like boulders rollin’ - I’m being chased
I see the face starin’ back at me
Doubts feel like they’re attackin’ me
Feel like life is a tragedy, but there’s another act coming rapidly

This mastery is a product of coppin’ the knowledge from trial and error I know it
You gotta write and recite at least ninety wack lines before you are a poet
You know I’m talkin’ bout focus, gotta be dull before you are the dopest
Descend the steps into the depths so you can bring light to the hopeless