[Instrumental Intro: Dark, distorted 808 sub boom, rapid hi-hat rolls, sinister synth loop, distant "Yeah, ho!" sample] [Verse 1] Crack of dawn, kitchen lights stay flickerin' Scale on the counter, sticky residue thickenin' (Thickenin', thickenin') Stomach on empty, pockets even worse Talkin' to the Lord but I'm movin' with a curse Triple beam whisper, needle jumpin' digits Fiends at the door, all lookin' like they spittin' riddles (What you need?) Knoxville winter, heart colder than December The Street Legend taught me, hustle hard and remember (Never fold) Praying for a family one I can ever remember But this trap phone ringin', it's a hunger tone [Chorus - Gang Vocals] THE ART OF THE HUSTLE,EVERY BLOCK A BATTLEFIELD (Battlefield, ho!) REAL ONES DON'T SLEEP WHEN THE RENT IS DUE AND UNREAL (Unreal) GET IT HOW YOU MOVE, EVERY DOLLAR A SCAR (Scar!) GOT TO STAND UP, WE HUSTLIN' IN THE DARK (Dark!) [Verse 2] [Pitched-down ad-lib: "Break it down"] Stash spot hollow, floorboard keister Hollow tips follow the hollow points, you get the picture (Peep game) Juggs and finesses, credit card stretches Turn a two into a four, I'm stretchin' Tesla tethers (Brrr) Candy paint drippin' on a stolen set of rims In the Projects,window steamin', cooked up, that butta, ammonia and whims (Who that?) Call me the struggle scholar, cap and gown from the gutter Playin' chess with rats and snakes, can't trust no one, not even my brothers (Can't trust 'em) Burner hot beneath the seat, supervised release officer a leech I'm just tryna get a feast off this nickel-and-dime grief [Chorus - Gang Vocals] GET IT HOW YOU LIVE, EVERY BLOCK A BATTLEFIELD (Battlefield, ho!) REAL ONES DON'T SLEEP WHEN THE RENT IS DUE AND UNREAL (Unreal) GET IT HOW YOU MOVE, EVERY DOLLAR A SCAR (Scar!) KNOX VEGAS STAND UP, WE HUSTLIN' IN THE DARK (Dark!) [Bridge - Dark ambient, lone piano note, distant police siren] [Spoken Word, Gravelly Whisper] They don't see the prayers behind the pistol The babies sleepin' through the whistle This ain't a life—it's math Addition by subtraction, surviving the aftermath [Drop out - Heavy 808s slam back, triplet flow] Serving Peter, paid Paul, still the debt collector callin' Can't bury my dawgs fast enough—they keep fallin' (Fallin', fallin') Graveyard shiftin' on the corner, eyes vacant Sippin' muddy water just to kill what I'm tastin' (Just to kill it) Gotta feed the block, they depend on the cook ( butta ) Every rock a chapter from a unwritten book [Outro] [Gang chants fading, softly] Get it how you live... (Live...) Art of the Hustle.. (knox,knox) [Sound of a cash register bell, footsteps echoing, distant "Mane..." sample] ...we hus-tlin' in the dark... [End]
