The Power of BrokeDaymond John

Now is it true you're dyslexic? I am dyslexic, yeah Wow, so how, has that held you back in any way? Naw that actually helped me, you know, I tried to find ways To not have to go to school, so I started working a lot Why haven't you ever used that as an excuse? I mean Not now, but I'm talking about when you were younger You know what, that's the theory of the Power of broke, I never use it as an excuse People always say, you know, you need money to make money or You need to know somebody and you have to have connections If you look at me, you know, I'm dyslexic I got left back I'm 5'7" I'm from the hood I'm African-American I never went to college I didn't know how to throw a basketball, sing, rap, or dance And I'm here, right? I'm here sitting with you I just always like that slogan, For Us By Us Yeah, we call it the first hashtag of clothing Yeah, yeah, yeah I feel like something like that is necessary now

Yeah This one feel different This one's for the home team Didn't see my color on the rack so I had to make a lane Didn't hear my story on the track so I had to make it sing They were selling dreams that were tailored for another man So I took the scraps they left us, drew it up with my own hands Started with a needle and a thread of ambition Listen what the streets was saying, that was my tuition They sold us logos, we wanted a soul They sold us fashion, we wanted control Every stitch a statement, every color a code Turned a basement operation to a story to be told This that for us by us, yeah we built it from the pavement This ain't for them, this for the ones who speak the same language This that uniform for the hungry and the nameless Now they see us, now they wanna know what our name is This that for us by us, stitched the pride in the fabric Turned a dollar and a vision automatic This that uniform for the dreamers causing traffic Now they watching, now they copying the magic Remember the first time I saw it walking down the block Wasn't on a billboard, it was realer than a stock Gave a head nod, that unspoken conversation That's the validation, that's beyond a corporation We ain't need the magazines, the block was our runway Turned a local buzz into a global Sunday Best dressed, no contest, the culture was the co-sign Our music videos became the only product line No budget for the ads, just the real ones who wear it That's a different kind of currency, you can't inherit From a whisper to a movement, see the power we command All because we built it with our own two hands This that for us by us, yeah we built it from the pavement This ain't for them, this for the ones who speak the same language This that uniform for the hungry and the nameless Now they see us, now they wanna know what our name is This that for us by us, stitched the pride in the fabric Turned a dollar and a vision automatic This that uniform for the dreamers causing traffic Now they watching, now they copying the magic This that For Us By Us, yeah, we built it from the pavement This ain't for them, this for the ones who speak the same language This that uniform for the hungry and the nameless Now they see us, now they wanna know what our name is This that For Us By Us, stitch the pride in the fabric Turned a dollar and a vision into automatic This that uniform for the dreamers causin' traffic Now they watchin', now they copyin' the magic

Boys savin' up for the Jetta, the Caddy 98 I was stackin' Red Lobster money on my dinner plate They wanted flash, I wanted cash flow, a different kind of race So I took twelve grand and put it in a fifteen-passenger space Red and white Ford, a hundred-thousand on the dash My boys was laughin' 'til I started countin' up the cash Runnin' that Parsons Boulevard, shadowin' the MTA A dollar a head, door-to-door, makin' forty bucks a day Extended credit like a bodega, knew 'em all by name "You short today? It's all good, catch me tomorrow, it's the same." They wanted the hot car to impress a shorty for a night I wanted the hot business that was gonna get my future right. This ain't a whip, it's a mobile command post This ain't a ride, it's the hustle that I host My Hoopty Boutique, stock on the floor Slide open the side door, this is the first store This ain't a van, this a vessel for the vision This ain't rust, it's the color of the mission My Hoopty Boutique, from Queens to the shore The engine of the empire, always askin' for more. Then the tickets started pilin', the city cracked down on the side-hustle Had to pivot, find a different way to flex the muscle Coulda sold it for ten G's, copped the whip my boys was on But the van had a new purpose before the old one was gone Packed it full of tie-top hats and the first run of the tees Drove it down to the Black Expo, movin' through the breeze Apollo Theater, slid the door back, started makin' sales Seat-of-the-pants market research, watchin' for the tells Seein' who was buyin' what, what colors made 'em stop and look Every dollar was a lesson, wrote my own damn book They was parked outside the club, I was parked outside the dream Buildin' this FUBU foundation from a one-man team. This ain't a whip, it's a mobile command post This ain't a ride, it's the hustle that I host My Hoopty Boutique, stock on the floor Slide open the side door, this is the first store This ain't a van, this a vessel for the vision This ain't rust, it's the color of the mission My Hoopty Boutique, from Queens to the shore The engine of the empire, always askin' for more. From a dollar ride... to a billion-dollar ride. Just gotta see the road, you know? Just gotta keep drivin'.

Four AM. The city's still asleep... But the dream's awake. Breathe in the doubt, breathe out the fire. Let's work. Cold floor meets the bare feet, world is dead silent Only thing that's movin' is my mind, it's gettin' violent With these visions, gotta make a hundred million decisions 'Fore the sun is even peeking through the blinds on a mission Got the goal board starin' at me from the wall, it's a mirror My reflection gettin' clearer, ain't no room for no fear here Pen and a pad, that's the scripture, paint a picture of the future Leftover ramen in the kitchen, that's the fuel that's gon' suit ya My mother's tired footsteps echo from the other room She work two jobs, so I gotta make this flower bloom From the concrete cracks, a matter of fact, it's do or die The power of broke ain't a slogan, it's the look in my eye. Sun up, I'm up No luck, just us Concrete dreams in a world of dust This is The Broke Gospel, in the grind we trust Rise and Grind Leave the rest behind One more rep, one more rhyme 'Til the stars align, yeah, it's my time. Lookin' out the window, see the shadows and the streetlights Sirens sing a lullaby for another street fight Some chase the night, I chase the dawn, it's a different race Tryna build a landmark from a forgotten place See my boys on the corner, they still dreamin' in their sleep I'm tryna build a ship so the whole damn fleet can eat They tell me, "Man, you're movin' different," I say, "I gotta be." "This ain't just rap, this ain't just clothes, this is sovereignty." From a kid in Queens who learned to sew a straight line To a king who's tryna own the whole damn skyline My only competition is the man in the mirror's vision He tell me "go harder," I don't need no one's permission The world ain't givin' handouts, learned that from the jump Had to build my own ladder from the bottom of the slump. Sun up, I'm up No luck, just us Concrete dreams in a world of dust This is The Broke Gospel, in the grind we trust Rise and Grind Leave the rest behind One more rep, one more rhyme 'Til the stars align, yeah, it's my time. Eighty-thousand dollar mortgage on my future... That's the price my mother paid so I wouldn't lose her To the streets, to the system, to the statistics She bet the house on me, so every brick I lay is payback for the risk. This ain't for the flash, this is for the foundation This for every empty pocket that fueled the motivation This for every "no" that I turned into a "watch me." Yeah... they couldn't stop me. The sun is breakin' now, the city's wakin' now I'm five hours ahead, no fakin' now Day is broken, so am I, but the will is whole This hunger in my soul is worth more than gold...

They said a lot of things. But I only heard one thing... Go. They said the vision's too niche, said the market's not ready Said the kid from Queens should keep his hands off the machete Twenty-seven bankers, twenty-seven closed doors All of 'em sleeping on a dream they can't afford Gave me spreadsheets, projections, a hundred reasons why The ceiling they were living under was my damn floor, I told 'em fly They saw the risk, I saw the runway, a whole different view They wanted proof of concept, I told 'em the proof is what I'm 'bout to do. So I took their twenty-seven no's And built a ladder out of those Now I'm looking down on 'em, sayin' here's how it goes... This the New Gospel, this the creed for the hungry Watch me turn a "no" into a house and some country This the New Gospel, for the ones they left behind My passion is the only currency, I'm 'bout to get what's mine Yeah, I'm in my own lane, they can't stop the motion Sharks are born moving, this is my ocean! New rulebook, yeah, I wrote the intro My only L was for "Learn," now watch the info My brand is my bond, my word is my logo Adore the process, this ain't for the photo They talkin' 'bout capital, I'm talkin' 'bout heart That's the one asset they can't tear apart I did the homework while they was at the party Now the party's at my house, and they ain't gettin' started This ain't revenge, this is just the receipt For every single time they tried to orchestrate defeat. 'Cause I took their twenty-seven no's And built a ladder out of those Now I'm looking down on 'em, sayin' here's how it goes... This the New Gospel, this the creed for the hungry Watch me turn a "no" into a house and some country This the New Gospel, for the ones they left behind My passion is the only currency, I'm 'bout to get what's mine Yeah, I'm in my own lane, they can't stop the motion Sharks are born moving, this is my ocean! New Gospel. New Rules. Watch me work. Yeah.

They said the jungle was full... They didn't know we were the lions. Let's go. They got the billboards on Sunset, the legacy names We got the guerilla posters stickin' up in the rain They got the boardroom meetings, the corporate jets We got the family meetings, makin' good on our bets They saw us comin', wrote us off as a fad, a quick trend Now they see the movement, and they don't know where it's gonna end Used to be invisible, a ghost in their machine Now we're the only thing they're seein' on the whole damn scene. They draw the battle lines in the sand With a checkbook in their hand But this is our land... This is our brand! Blood, sweat, our crest Put their legacy to the test This is more than a logo, this is flesh We protect this house! From the wolves at the door This is everything we're fighting for They can buy the game, but we own the score We protect this house! They got the focus groups tellin' 'em what the kids are feelin' We are the kids, we just broke through the damn ceiling Our street team is the culture, our co-sign is the real That's an algorithm that their money can't steal Every dollar we make gets flipped back into the fight While they spend a million bucks just to get their lighting right This is agility vs. the giant, the quick vs. the dead They follow the trends, we're the voice inside their head. They draw the battle lines in the sand With a checkbook in their hand But this is our land... This is our brand! Blood, sweat, our crest Put their legacy to the test This is more than a logo, this is flesh We protect this house! From the wolves at the door This is everything we're fighting for They can buy the game, but we own the score We protect this house! Yeah... This is our ground. You can visit... But you can't stay.

They see the lights... But they don't see the nights. Yeah, Yeah Glass walls lookin' out on the city I own Every light is a soul, but I'm standin' here all alone Phone full of contacts, but nobody to call 'Cause the only language I speak now is "conference call" Remember late nights, we were laughin' in the van Talkin' 'bout the future, drawin' pictures in the sand Now the future's here, and the picture's in a frame But everybody in that picture doesn't know my new name. The city's mine, but I'm losing time This view from the top is a lonely climb They celebrate the wins, but they never see the cost This 100-Hour Work-Week got my old self lost Yeah, the gospel got a price you never read about Just the silence in the penthouse when the world is loud. Missed my mother's birthday, sent a check instead Voicemail from my brother, left it on unread Promised I'd be there, but the deal had to close That's the garden that you plant, so that's the flower that grows I turned the family business into a corporation Traded heartfelt handshakes for sterile negotiation This ain't a complaint, this is just the confession The weight of the crown is a constant possession I'm still that hungry kid, but the hunger's changed its taste It's not for the money, it’s for the time I can't replace. The city's mine, but I'm losing time This view from the top is a lonely climb They celebrate the wins, but they never see the cost This 100-Hour Work-Week got my old self lost Yeah, the gospel got a price you never read about Just the silence in the penthouse when the world is loud. They tell you 'bout the glory... They don't tell you 'bout the silence when you finally win the war. Just the price of the dream...