🔥 YOU NEED PATIENCE (FIRST DAY OUT) [Intro — The Gate Opens] Sun-drenched Rhodes. Warm bass. A door creaks. Footsteps on concrete. Voice is close, steady, a man talking to himself. Aight. Deep breath. Sun feel different out here, don't it? Ain't nobody gonna hand you nothing. But ain't nobody gonna take your tomorrow, either. Let's go. First morning out, coffee in a real cup Mama's porch, and she ain't even bring it up She just looked at me, said "Boy, you home now" And that one look said more than the whole town Got a bus pass, got a court date, got a curfew Got a PO who said "I'm watching — but I'm rooting for you" Got a job list taped up on the wall Got a phone full of numbers I ain't gonna call 'Cause them same voices sound like the same cage And I ain't walked all this way to turn the same page The seed don't question the winter The river don't fight the stone The sun don't rush the morning And you are not alone You need patience You need time You need to know You're still in your prime You need brothers You need grace You need to move At your own pace Patience… Patience… Patience… Day three, boss said "You're early — that's a start" Day five, first paycheck — folded in my heart Day seven, old friend hit me up like "Where you been?" I said "On a different road — you're welcome to walk in" He laughed. I ain't mad. I just kept it moving Some doors close so the right ones can open Called my little brother, told him "Stay in school" Told him "I ain't your hero — I'm your proof" Proof you can fall and still stand up straight Proof it ain't over — it just got late Everything drops. One piano note. An older voice — a mentor, an OG, a father figure — speaks low and clear. Listen to me, young king. Nobody's asking you to run. They're asking you to stay. Show up. On time. Every time. Answer the phone when the case worker call. Go to the meeting even when you don't feel like it. Sit in the chair. Do the work. Say the name. You ain't gotta be perfect. You just gotta be present. And one day — not today, not tomorrow, but one day — you gon' look back at this sidewalk and it's gon' look like a starting line. You need patience You need time You need to know You're still in your prime You need brothers You need grace You need to move At your own pace You GOT patience You GOT time You GOT everything You need to shine Patience… Patience… Patience… Bless up Mama — she never left the porch! Bless up the PO who saw a man, not a case! Bless up the boss who took a chance on a record! Bless up the brother who met me at the gate! Bless up the ones who kept my seat warm! Bless up the ones who said "Come back home"! Bless up the ones still inside tonight — This one's for you — you ain't walking alone! ONE DAY AT A TIME! I'M STILL STANDING! I'M A FREE MAN! AND I'M BUILDING! You're not behind. You're not broken. You're not your record. You're not your worst night. You're just… beginning. And beginnings take time. Patience. HURRAY — said like a man unlocking his own front door.
