I been running from the past, running from the flame,

Every chapter of my life got a burden with my name.

But the scars I carry show the fight I survive, If I'm not running from death, then I'm running from life.

Running from the pain, running from the rain, Running through the silence that's tattooed in my brain.

But the scars I carry tell the truth I denied, If I'm not haunted by death, then I'm haunted by life. haunted by my life yeah If I'm not haunted by death, then I'm haunted by life.

Every creak in the hallway... cut straight through my bones."

"Report cards folded... hiding C's from her sight, Prayin' she don't find out... before the end of the night.

Switch on the dresser... belt on the chair, Fear taught me discipline... but love wasn't there."

Cereal for dinner water into milk ...poverty stitched tighter then the clothes I built ...

At seventeen I was chased by the block, Gunshots echo through the schoolyard flock.

Dreams of a scholarship buried with my friends, Funeral after funeral, the cycle never ends.

Mama said church would redeem what | lack, But the preacher drove a Benz while the choir dressed black.

Couldn't trust the system, couldn't trust the law,

I was threatened by sirens, hunted by eyes, Corner store cameras watching all of my lies.

Friends turning strangers when the heat got near, Snitches in the shadows, betrayal in the air.

Seventeen years deep in lessons of war, Waking every morning with a lock on the door.

Baggy jeans sagging but the weight was real, Carrying the rage that no prayer could heal.

I was trapped in my anger, trapped in my skin, Trapped by the cycle my bloodline been in.

Every dream I envisioned was heavy with chains, But the music gave me wings through the sorrow and stains.

I been running from the past, running from the flame,

Every chapter of my life got a burden with my name.

But the scars I carry show the fight I survive, If I'm not running from death, then I'm running from life.

Running from the pain, running from the rain, Running through the silence that's tattooed in my brain.

But the scars I carry tell the truth I denied, If I'm not haunted by death, then I'm haunted by life.