Lyrics

[Verse]

Fridge was humming empty;
Water in the syrup bowl;
Gold at bottom through the window;
Digging for my soul;
Mama working double;
Just to keep the lights on dim;
I was outside in the rain;
Looking for a way in;

Seen the brothers on the corner;
Fast money slow down;
But I chose the heavy books;
Took a deeper breath;
Walked three miles to the library;
Clothes smelling like the bus;
I knew the only person who could;
Change the vibe with us;

[Chorus]
From the concrete to the classroom;
I turned the struggle into a degree;
Building up the future, yeah;
Setting every young mind free;
Now I'm coming home to my own front door; Giving my kids everything I didn't have before;
From the concrete to the classroom;
From the concrete to the classroom.

[Verse]
Now I'm standing at the chalkboard;
Looking at their eyes;
I see the same hunger;
I see the same disguise;
They think the world is closing in;
I tell him look again;
I was you ten years ago;
Searching for a friend;

I grade the papers late at night;
While my baby sleeps sound;
No more sirens in the distance;
No more staying underground;
Paid the price in sweat and tears;
Kept the vision clear;
Now the table's full of food;
And we don't live in fear;

[Chorus]
From the concrete to the classroom;
I turn the struggle into a degree;
Building up the future. yeah:
Setting every young mind free;
Now I'm coming home to my own front door;
Giving my kids everything I didn't have before;
From the concrete to the classroom;
From the concrete to the classroom, yeah;

[Bridge]
Sometimes I look at my degree and I start to shake;
Thinking about the long nights and how much it took to break;
The cycle of the poverty, the shadow of the past;
But I built a foundation that was finally gonna last;

[Chorus x 2]
From the concrete to the classroom;
I turned the struggle into a degree;
Building up the future, yeah;
Setting every young mind free;
Now I'm coming home to my own front door; Giving my kids everything, I didn't have before;
From the concrete to the classroom;
From the concrete to the classroom.