No Handouts

NO HANDOUTS — ORYN [Intro] Yeah, yeah Look… They only see the shine, they don't know about the pressure. I had to lose a lot to learn to move a little better. ORYN. [Chorus] I got here with no handouts, no favors, Late nights, all gas, no brakes, no favors. They weren't there when the whole world changed us, Now they wanna come around like they made us. I put my pain in the music, let it pay me, Had to love myself before a girl could save me. If I lose it all tonight, can't break me, I built this from the ground, you can't take me. No handouts, no handouts, I was down bad, had to find my own route. They talk big, but they don't know what I'm 'bout, Now the same ones that doubted wanna know how. [Verse 1] I was broke with a dream and a phone at one percent, Trying to make a dollar stretch, wondering where the money went. Everybody got advice, nobody wanna help, Funny how they know your worth when you believe in yourself. I don't need a cosign, I can sign my own name, Turned the pressure into power, turned the losses into gains. I got scars I never show, I got thoughts I never say, I was fighting with myself while I was smiling through the day. Now I'm learning every lesson, I ain't bitter, I'm aware, Everybody says they love you till it's time to really care. I stopped begging for a seat, built a table of my own, Had to get comfortable with walking down the road alone. And I ain't perfect, I got things I need to fix, But I'm done making excuses, I'm committed to the shift. If the door don't open up, I'ma find another way, I ain't waiting for permission just to live the life I say. [Pre-Chorus] Ooh, I had to find my way, Had to make a little light out of the darkest days. No, I ain't the same, If you knew me back then, you wouldn't know me today. [Chorus] I got here with no handouts, no favors, Late nights, all gas, no brakes, no favors. They weren't there when the whole world changed us, Now they wanna come around like they made us. I put my pain in the music, let it pay me, Had to love myself before a girl could save me. If I lose it all tonight, can't break me, I built this from the ground, you can't take me. No handouts, no handouts, I was down bad, had to find my own route. They talk big, but they don't know what I'm 'bout, Now the same ones that doubted wanna know how. [Verse 2] I got people counting on me, that's a different kind of drive, When you're responsible for more than just yourself staying alive. I want freedom, not a flex, I want peace, not applause, I want my daughter seeing strength in how her daddy handled loss. I want a house where we ain't stressing when the bills come due, A fridge full of food and a little room to breathe, too. I want to tell her, "Baby girl, you can become what you believe," And know I showed her with my actions, not just words she heard from me. So I keep going when I'm tired, keep creating when it's hard, Every failure left a lesson, every setback left a mark. I don't envy anybody, everybody's got a race, I'm just trying to build a life that I can look at and embrace. And if nobody ever streams this, I'm still proud I made the sound, 'Cause the man I had to be is worth more than being crowned. I ain't chasing validation, I got something left to prove, Not to them, but to the younger me who needed me to move. [Bridge] I don't wanna be rich just to say that I made it, I wanna give my family a life where we're safe in. I wanna look back at the nights I was breaking, And smile at the man that the struggle was shaping. Oh-oh, I won't fold, Even when the nights get cold. Oh-oh, now I know, I was building while they told me no. [Final Chorus] I got here with no handouts, no favors, Late nights, all gas, no brakes, no favors. They weren't there when the whole world changed us, Now they wanna come around like they made us. I put my pain in the music, let it pay me, Had to love myself before a girl could save me. If I lose it all tonight, can't break me, I built this from the ground, you can't take me. No handouts! I did it myself, No handouts! Had to bet on myself. If I fall, get up, put the pain on the shelf, I ain't waiting on the world, I'm investing in myself. [Outro] Yeah… No shortcuts. No excuses. Just me, my dreams, and everything I had to get through. ORYN.