–In an age obsessed with optics and algorithms, Cooler Than I is a scathing, elegiac ode to authenticity.
No matter how hard you try, you’ll never be cooler than I,
Not in your thousand-dollar sneakers,
Not with your curated cry,
Not with your dopamine drip of validation and clicks,
Not with your slow-motion vape cloud tricks.
I was forged in the analog age.
Where silence had static and wisdom had rage.
I bled on cassette tape, I wept into stone;
I mapped out the stars with a dial-up phone.
You flex with your filters, your merch, your brand.
I’ve stitched up a wound with my trembling hand.
I’ve buried a friend, I’ve disarmed a lie;
I’ve learned how to beg and still not die.
Cool isn’t gold, it’s rust that endures.
It’s the crack in your skull where the wild light pours.
It’s a garden grown after gridlines fail.
It’s poetry scratched into armored mail.
So, dance on your timeline, rehearse your despair,
Wield irony loud like you actually care.
But deep in the ash, when the satellites fry,
You’ll still not be cooler than I.
Because I’ve seen the world end slow, not fast.
I’ve loved with a madness designed not to last.
I’ve spoken to ghosts with my breath held tight
And laughed in the dark when there wasn’t a light.
So, no matter how hard you try,
With your filters, your fame, and your flawless disguise,
You’ll never be cooler than I.
I’m not a vibe.
I’m the reason why.