[Verse 1]
Yo, I get lost inside my head on the regular
I gamble for a living and music is the creditor
I borrow self worth from the screams of the crowd
Then the lights turn off and the interest compounds
I know the way that it sounds, I don't take it for granted
I'm talkin' 'bout my world, hoping you can understand it
See, I live on a planet where I'm globally known
But tend to feel so alone 'cause of the way that I roam
I'm always visiting home via a cellular phone
Feeling less like a man and more like a drone
But I keep it in the red and ignore the physics
'Cause if I slow down, it validates the critics
Yo, I'll continue grinding on the ladder that I'm climbin'
'Til the day I'm at the top with the hard days all behind me
Keep talking shit, you ain't the first one that's said it
I'm the motherfucking truth, you're just the radio edit

[Chorus]
You don't gotta love me, it ain't gonna hurt
It's a sold out show and they're singing all the words
You don't gotta love me, it's all relative
You don't gotta love me but I'd love it if you did

[Instrumental Break]
[Verse 2]
I try to live by the words I speak
I try to learn through the friends I keep
I struck a nerve while fast asleep
I possess the curse of a true believer
And every verse is another word written in a book titled, "Self Help"
A costly possession
Yo, I need to find a way to exhaust my aggression
I feel the most at peace when I'm lost in obsession
So I open a cage filled with limitless rage
To be held against its will by the ink on this page
Telling me it's still gonna try to think up a way
To escape from its cell and take over my days
And so I bottle it up until I'm out on a stage
Then I scream into a mic until I'm blue in the face
Every bar that I produce is just a word in my biography
Put 'em on your track, they're the peak of your discography

[Chorus]
You don't gotta love me, it ain't gonna hurt
It's a sold out show and they're singing all the words
You don't gotta love me, it's all relative
You don't gotta love me but I'd love it if you did

[Verse 3]
Ayo John (Ayo man)
Man, wouldn't it be great if we could just go demonstrate how we're empowered by the hate?
But the love (But the love), it can take us into space
Just like a rocket full of fuel to rule in each state and every state
So we play (So we play), and roll the dice with every shake
I manifest my best with every breath I go and take
Away from all the crowds and get 'em loud, and make 'em quake
'Cause when the mic is in hand, I feel the weight of all the greats
[Verse 4]
Wouldn't it be great, wouldn't it be swell
If you came and saw me on the night I'm doing well?
Wouldn't it be nice, wouldn't it be cool
If I could only be myself without feeling a fool?
Wouldn't it be wonderful (Wouldn't it?)
If my mistakes were refundable?
Wouldn't it be rad if I didn't feel bad?
Wouldn't it be great if I could let down my guard?
It don't gotta be hard (Look, look)
It don't gotta be hard

[Chorus]
You don't gotta love me, it ain't gonna hurt
It's a sold out show and they're singing all the words
You don't gotta love me, it's all relative
You don't gotta love me but I'd love it if you did