[Intro]

I think about death a lot. I think about what I'm going to leave behind, where I'm going to end up, what kind of impact I'm going to make...if I'm even going to make one at all. Shit, I put so much pressure on myself because I'm scared as hell of being someone that's forgotten...but that's what it takes, isn't it? An undying need for fulfillment. An obsession, to the point of insanity

[Verse 1 – 24 bars]

20 at the time of writing this

The age where I make my idle hands write a song or write a list

I’m wired with adrenaline, never sleep, won’t stop, et cetera

‘Cause if a hand’s raised in victory, the second hand gets ahead of you

Minutes melt to hours, and the memories persist

Of my dad and myself thinking, “Damn son, I know you’re better than this!”

Full of adamant grit

As I’m planning what’ll happen, not a second chance, this is it

“Gotta keep the pace or I won’t validate my time here/

“Being mediocre means I’m a waste of space,” that rings between my ears

My fears fueled further by comparisons

I’ve gotten buried in

Claw the soil, unearthing rose petals

Won’t smell them ‘cause while I’m stopped, the others grow better

They say it’s not a race but my view is they’re ahead of me

Just trying to get a leg up like wrestling a centipede

Desperately trying to be the best and I’m finding

That I’m steadily improving but I question my timing

Greats have made it by my age…why am I struggling to make a name

When I do the right things and focus with a laser aim?

I’m not playing games, I breathe for this

Not time to shine yet? Well it sure seems it is

If the door’s cracked, won’t hesitate to throw it open

Fixation hinges on it, always go for broken

[8 bar bridge]

6 feet, smothered deep beneath the dead roses

So distracted by the finish that I just noticed

No aromas can penetrate an oak coffin

Your own corrosion’s all that stays boxed in

Never take time to use my olfactory sense

Working in the lab like an old factory since

That’s the way to the top, but what’s the point being immortalized

If you never stop and realize that there’s more to life?

That’s the way to the top, but what’s the point being immortalized

If you never stop and realize that there’s more to life?

That’s the way to the top, but what’s the point being immortalized

If you never stop and realize that there’s more to life?

[Verse 2 – 24 bars]

I’m no cynic, but I’m my own worst critic

Since I know of no limits, I insist I push my writtens

To a higher plateau than rap knows

To leave a legacy as the best there’ll ever be: rap’s GOAT

Grapple high standards, stressing that I stay focused

Disappointed if I’m not a hybrid Shakespeare and Beethoven

Twisted notion of the concept of self worth

How can I preach self-acceptance if I can’t accept myself first?

Hell, some days it’s hard to tell why I’m doing this

To influence? True, but I’m scared the glory will become more important than the music is

At which point, it’s ludicrous to pursue it

Further due to fervor from my ego and the music biz

I swear I’m losing it, man…and I’m not even on yet

Still got something to prove with every fucking project

Am I talking nonsense or inferiority complex?

All I know is it’s a process

Training daily to sustain progress

Kill myself for music, evolving bag of flesh and bones

Turning epitaphs of my former self into stepping stones

It’s all I’ve ever known, it’s all I’ll ever be

I’ll keep the drive but I need to change the way I think

Elevate my craft, hope I’m at peace when I’ve made it there

The mirror’s gawking at me…I need to take the stares