00:04In the shadows of the stage lights
00:09They never tell you what the crown really costs
00:29They said the booth was holy ground
00:32Ink and blood both look the same
00:35One signature, one silent vow
00:38In the lights, never go out the same
00:41Young blood from the midwest streets
00:44Half the life in the cold, half still free
00:48He looked the camera dead in the eye
00:51Said the only way out was the ultimate fee
00:56He wasn't laughing when he said it
00:58The room went quiet, the laugh cut short
01:03I paid with the purest thing I had
01:05And walked out the door, they said no one walks through
01:10The price of the crown is written in red
01:14Not on the paper, but the ones you bled
01:18They call it success, they call it the game
01:21But the ones who know, know the real name
01:26Blood for the escape, blood for the light
01:29Blood so the system can't hold you tight
01:33You can hear it in the silence when the beat drops out
01:37The ones who paid, never really got out
01:40He claimed he wrote the summer anthem
01:43The one that made the whole city move
01:47Said they took him as the offering
01:50So the other name could rise and prove
01:52Then the one who lost his mother spoke
01:55In the middle of the storm, voice cracked and rocked
01:58She was taken, they took her from me
02:01While the world just scrolled and saw
02:07The baller whose father never came home
02:09The comic whose bloodline got cut short
02:11The Philly voice who lost his boy
02:13And told the world to shut the talk
02:15Different cities say quiet pattern peak
02:16All the shine and the sudden loss
02:18They call it tragedy, they call it life
02:20But the ones inside the circle never talk
02:21The price of the crown
02:24Is written in red
02:26Not on the paper
02:27But the ones you bled
02:29They call it success
02:31They call it the game
02:33But the ones who know, know the real name
02:38Blood for the escape, high
02:39Blood for the light, high
02:41Blood so the system can't hold you tight
02:44You can hear it in the silence
02:46When the beat drops out
02:48The ones who paid, never really got out
02:55Yeah, yeah, yeah
02:57They laugh on camera so the truth can hide
03:00They call it a joke
03:02So the oath stays sealed
03:04But when the unknown one from the loose spoke clear
03:07Even the interviewer couldn't keep the mask real
03:11Half in the order, half still street
03:14Said he was the first to walk away clean
03:18By giving what they said
03:20Could never be given
03:21And living to speak
03:23What no one should have seen
03:28The price of the crown
03:30Is written in red
03:32Not on the paper
03:33But the ones you bled
03:35They call it success
03:37They call it the game
03:39But the ones who know, already know the name
03:44Blood for the escape, blood for the light
03:47Blood so the pyramid can't hold you tight
03:51When the beat drops out
03:52And the room goes still
03:54Everyone who knows
03:58Already feels the chill
04:06The ones who know, know, know, know, know, know
04:16The ones who know
04:18The ones who know
04:19The ones who know
04:19The ones who know
04:30Get access to over 3,000 songs written and produced by John Gunn for just $7 a month
04:35Go to jmgunn.bandcamp.com forward slash subscribe and join today
04:40Go to jmgunn.bandcamp.com forward slash subscribe and join today
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