# CROWN IN THE STORM ### Chapter 4 of 14 **Target duration: 3:10–3:25** [INTRO — thunder far away / car ignition / low Memphis cowbell pulse] [Spoken] I didn't make it out clean. I made it out changed. There's a difference. [LOW VOCAL CHOP] [Whisper watermark] It’s JohnFitz Pueblo... [808 DROP] [HOOK] Crown in the storm, I was built through the rain. Still got scars, but they don't call my name. If I eat, then my people get a plate at the table, God carried me somehow— that's why I know He able. Crown in the storm, pressure made me stand taller. I don't need fake love, give me loyalty, brother. Tried to bury my future, but the roots grew stronger. I came out with a testimony— not just money in my pocket. [VERSE 1] Told my brother, put the poison down, that road don't love you. Anything that slowly kills you ain't something that's for you. He said, “You don't know my struggle.” I said, “Maybe I don't. But I know what it feels like when your own mind says you won't.” So I pray for my circle, I don't just pray for myself. What's the point of getting free if everybody else stays in hell? Nah. I want loyalty over numbers, truth over applause. If you only love the winner, you never loved me at all. I remember empty cupboards, cold rooms, unpaid bills, now when blessings hit the table I remember how hunger feels. So if God gives me more, I'ma open another chair. I refuse to become wealthy and forget who wasn't there. [MEMPHIS BELL HIT] I learned royalty ain't jewelry, it's carrying responsibility. A crown is heavy when you understand what leadership means. [PRE-HOOK] [Chopped whisper] Stay solid... Stay grateful... Stay ready... [HOOK] Crown in the storm, I was built through the rain. Still got scars, but they don't call my name. If I eat, then my people get a plate at the table, God carried me somehow— that's why I know He able. Crown in the storm, pressure made me stand taller. I don't need fake love, give me loyalty, brother. Tried to bury my future, but the roots grew stronger. I came out with a testimony— not just money in my pocket. [VERSE 2 — faster Southern pocket] They switched when the door opened, that's human nature. Some people love your struggle until God starts giving favor. They grabbed at the keys like my blessing belonged to 'em, but what's assigned to my life can't be stolen by another. So I'm calm. No panic. No envy. No concern. Fire taught lessons I would've never learned. Forgive? Absolutely. Forget every pattern? No. Wisdom ain't bitterness, it's knowing where not to go. I forgive the hand without handing it the knife again. Love don't require me to repeat the same cycle twice again. [RECORD STOP] And I'm breaking old curses— not with slogans, with choices. Different habits, different thinking, different voices. If dysfunction ran the family, then somebody gotta stop it. If pain got passed down, I refuse to keep the profit. Triple digits in the notebook, every verse got mileage. But I don't rap to sound deep— I survived to give guidance. [BRIDGE — half-time / low organ-like synth] [Spoken] Somehow... I survived people I thought I couldn't live without. Somehow... I survived versions of myself I thought would never change. That “somehow” had a name. God. [SUB IMPACT] [FINAL HOOK] Crown in the storm, I was built through the rain. Still got scars, but they don't call my name. If I eat, then my people get a plate at the table, God carried me somehow— that's why I know He able. Crown in the storm, I ain't standing here alone. Every blessing got a purpose, every seed gotta be sown. They tried to close the story— God kept writing it longer. I didn't just survive. I came out stronger. [OUTRO — cowbell decays / distant thunder] [Spoken] Chapter Four. Don't let the blessing make you forget the people you prayed beside. [Filtered watermark] It’s JohnFitz Pueblo... [LOW BOOM / TAPE STOP]
