When I Die (Last Chapter)

 

**When I Die (Last Chapter)**

 

 

Intro

 

When I die, don’t make me pretty in the papers —

 

let the block remember me loud, not faded later.

 

 

Verse 1

 

Night snapped like a snare, phone buzzed — mama callin’ hard,

 

I tucked my chain, tucked my pride, tucked the script inside my card.

 

We moved where shadows talk, alleyways know my name,

 

counted clocks, counted losses, kept my winter in the flame.

 

Homies turned to echoes, some fell from the same cliff,

 

I kept receipts of loyalty — heavy like a gift.

 

If I go tonight, I went how I lived: blunt and blunter,

 

city lights baptize me, sirens write the number.

 

 

Hook

 

When I die don’t put it soft, let ’em hear the truth roar,

 

play the tapes I left in the trunk, the stories from the floor.

 

Light a cigarette at midnight, pass it round like we survive,

 

remember all the times I ran, the nights I stayed alive.

 

When I die — keep the streets loud — don’t let the silence lie,

 

stamp my name in cracked concrete, let the hood say I tried.

 

 

Verse 2

 

Little man on the stoop, he askin’ why I always stare,

 

I taught him how to duck the shots and how to hide your care.

 

There’s pictures in my wallet of a schoolyard and a hymn,

 

I promised heaven to my kids but left the battle grim.

 

Enemies got calendars, they mark their days with spite,

 

I mark mine with motion, gas the engine, cut the light.

 

If the bench get cold, if the coffins come complete,

 

tell ’em I died in chapters — not on page one, but on the street.

 

 

Hook

 

When I die don’t put it soft, let ’em hear the truth roar,

 

play the tapes I left in the trunk, the stories from the floor.

 

Light a cigarette at midnight, pass it round like we survive,

 

remember all the times I ran, the nights I stayed alive.

 

When I die — keep the streets loud — don’t let the silence lie,

 

stamp my name in cracked concrete, let the hood say I tried.

 

 

Bridge

 

Prayers in the rearview, blood on my new kicks,

 

life dealt cheap poker, I learned to count the tricks.

 

Ain’t beggin’ for forgiveness — I gave what I could give,

 

bury me with my flaws, with the life I didn't live.

 

 

Outro

 

When I die don’t make it quiet — let the block argue, shout,

 

let the stories cut like winter, let the truth roll out.

 

Teach the kids my mistakes so they don’t have to cry,

 

tell ’em: “that one lived loud — don’t forget why.”