BACK COUNTRY CRACK

BACK COUNTRY CRACK [INTRO] Yeah… Iron Cedar. From the porch to the pavement, From the pavement to the stage. You know where I came from. Now listen where I'm headed. [HOOK] All these bills getting high, got the whole town shaking, Poor man breaking, middle class barely making. I came from the dirt where the cold wind blows, Now I'm putting country in the rap and letting everybody know. Back country crack—I'm talking about the sound, Raw truth in the lyrics when I put it down. From the block to the back roads, I'm carrying that torch, Had nothing but a dream and a beat on the porch. [VERSE 1] I remember Ninth Street, nights getting colder, Place of Hope memories sitting heavy on my shoulders. Living with nothing, wondering where I would sleep, Now I'm putting every scar and every struggle on the beat. You don't know about the bridge when the night gets long, When you're counting every dollar just to make it till dawn. You don't know about losing everything you ever had, Then waking up the next morning still determined to get back. I seen addiction take people that I loved, Seen good hearts get buried underneath the mud. I ain't dressing up the past like it was something beautiful, I'm telling you the truth so the next generation can move. Now I'm looking through the scope—nah, telescope, Trying to see my future while they staring at my old. Binocular vision, I'm searching for the stars, They talking about switching lanes, I'm switching genres in the car. I went from rap to country, put the pain in the strings, Put the Northwoods in my voice, let the whole backcountry sing. You can hear the pavement underneath every bar, But the farther that I travel, the brighter those stars. [HOOK] All these bills getting high, got the whole town shaking, Poor man breaking, middle class barely making. I came from the dirt where the cold wind blows, Now I'm putting country in the rap and letting everybody know. Back country crack—I'm talking about the sound, Raw truth in the lyrics when I put it down. From the block to the back roads, I'm carrying that torch, Had nothing but a dream and a beat on the porch. [VERSE 2] Crunch time, lunchtime, I'm eating every beat, Cereal-box punchlines, got 'em rattling their teeth. No silver spoon, I had a paper plate, Had to learn real early that tomorrow wouldn't wait. I ain't chasing everybody, I'm chasing my potential, Every bar got weight like a case full of credentials. They looking for a shortcut, I'm building mine slow, Brick by brick, back road by back road. I remember old porches, coolers and the cold, Old stories from the past that I never would've told. Now I turn those memories into records for the world, Take the pain from a boy and give it back to the grown. I don't glorify the poison, I describe what it cost, How you can lose yourself trying to find what you lost. How the same block that raised you can bury your name, How you gotta break the cycle if you're tired of the same. Now I'm standing on stages with the microphone lit, Country in my bloodstream, street knowledge in the grit. They thought I was finished—man, they must've been dreaming, I came back with a purpose and a whole new meaning. [HOOK] All these bills getting high, got the whole town shaking, Poor man breaking, middle class barely making. I came from the dirt where the cold wind blows, Now I'm putting country in the rap and letting everybody know. Back country crack—I'm talking about the sound, Raw truth in the lyrics when I put it down. From the block to the back roads, I'm carrying that torch, Had nothing but a dream and a beat on the porch. [COUNTRY-RAP BRIDGE] Acoustic guitar comes in… drums drop low… Mama said, “Son, don't let that road define you,” I said, “I'm taking every hard lesson and I'm gonna climb through.” Mud on the tires, moon hanging over the pines, Got a six-string in the truck and a whole lot on my mind. Small-town lights, big-city scars, I learned how to navigate by watching distant stars. If the road gets rough, let the engine keep running, If they say you can't make it, keep that heartbeat drumming. From the Northwoods to the stage, let the whole world hear, Every mile that I traveled, every struggle, every tear. I ain't running from the past—I put it right inside the song, Because sometimes you gotta lose your way before you know where you belong. [VERSE 3] Now I'm pushing through the backcountry, carrying the torch, Same kid from the struggle, different man on the porch. I got dreams in the trailer and plans in the truck, Trying to build something bigger than myself from the dust. I want the youth to see there's another way out, Education, music, business—give 'em something to dream about. You can come from poverty and still build an empire, You can walk through the ashes and still carry fire. So when you hear these bars, understand where they're from, Every line got a heartbeat, every verse got a drum. I ain't here pretending that the road was easy, I'm here to tell the people who survived: believe me. I went from sleeping rough to chasing these dreams, From wondering where I'd eat to building bigger schemes. Now the microphone's my truck and the beat's my road, And I'm carrying every lesson from every heavy load. They can talk about cars, chains, houses, fame, I'd rather put my family and my community in the game. Because success ain't success if you're standing there alone, I want everybody with me when I finally make it home. So turn the guitar up, let the bassline knock, Let the whole damn back road know we came from the block. Iron Cedar on the mic, let the story unfold— From the dirt, through the fire, now I'm turning it gold. [FINAL HOOK — 2X] All these bills getting high, got the whole town shaking, Poor man breaking, middle class barely making. I came from the dirt where the cold wind blows, Now I'm putting country in the rap and letting everybody know. Back country crack—I'm talking about the sound, Raw truth in the lyrics when I put it down. From the block to the back roads, I'm carrying that torch, Had nothing but a dream and a beat on the porch. [OUTRO] From Ninth Street… To the Northwoods… From the porch… To the stage… You can't erase where I came from. You can only watch what I build from it. Iron Cedar.