“VELVET WITH A SWITCHBLADE” [INTRO — SMOOTH CROON, SMOKY CLUB / BRUSH DRUMS + UPRIGHT BASS] Well, well, well… Pour the trouble in the glass, let the whole room lean… They thought I came to sing— I came to change the scene. [PIANO WALK-UP — BRASS WHISPER] Yeah… [VERSE 1 — LAID-BACK SWING / CROON-RAP] I walk in clean with the dirt on my name, Silk on my collar, got fire in my veins, Tip my hat to the devil, tell him, “Move from my lane,” I been dancing with disaster, now we ballroom with pain. See, I learned real quick that the smile can deceive, Everybody shake your hand, but they plotting when you leave, So I keep one eye open, keep the truth in my sleeve, And I never beg for crowns— I make kings concede. [BRASS HIT — BEAT DROPS INTO DRILL] [DRILL SWITCH — RAPID-FIRE / HARD 808s] Look— I don't need your cosign, I don't need your praise, I don't need permission, I don't follow your maze. Talk slick? Better talk with your chest, I'm a problem in a tux, motherfucker, I'm dressed. Click-clack with the cadence, Big facts, no fakin', Been down, still dangerous, Heart cold, but I'm patient. You can hear that bass when I step in the place— BOOM—BOOM—BOOM— That's the sound of your confidence breaking. [STOP-TIME — EVERYTHING CUTS] …And that's when the band gets quiet. [LOW CROON — EMOTIONAL] Because underneath the swagger… there's a man who survived. [VERSE 2 — SLOW JAZZ RAP / VULNERABLE] I got scars underneath this tailored suit, Got memories that still know exactly where to shoot, I laughed when I wanted to cry, Stayed silent when I needed to scream, Built a throne from the wreckage of every abandoned dream. They don't know about the nights when the ceiling knew my name, When I stared into the darkness and negotiated with the pain. But I woke up every morning with another song to sing— Funny how a broken heart can teach a motherfucker swing. [BRASS RISE — EMOTION TURNS TO CONFIDENCE] [SWING GROOVE — CROON + RAP CALL/RESPONSE] I said— Can you feel it? [CAN YOU FEEL IT?] Can you hear it? [CAN YOU HEAR IT?] If the world won't give me flowers, I'll make roses from the concrete. I said— Can you feel it? [CAN YOU FEEL IT?] Can you fear it? [CAN YOU FEAR IT?] I'm the gentleman at midnight with a nightmare in his heartbeat. [DRILL BREAK — RAPID TRIPLET CADENCE] Ain't no pretty-boy pretending, I'm a product of the pressure, Every loss became a lesson, Every lesson made me better. Every enemy an echo, Every setback made me clever, Now I'm stepping through the smoke like the smoke owe me a favor. Fuck a fake introduction— let the résumé explain it. I don't talk about the mountain, I climb it while you're naming it. [BRASS STABS — DOUBLE-TIME] Too fast? Keep up. Too sharp? Back up. Too real? That's tough luck. I came from “you ain't shit” to “holy shit— that's us!” [BEAT CUT — SINGLE PIANO CHORD] [WHISPERED CROON] Funny… They used to laugh at the dream. [ORCHESTRA SWELLS] Now they ask me how I made it look easy. [FINAL HOOK — BIG BAND × DRILL FUSION] I'm velvet with a switchblade, smooth with a savage side, Champagne in the glass, but there's thunder in my eyes. I can croon you into heaven, then I drag you through the night, Got Sinatra in the posture, got the trenches in the mic. Velvet with a switchblade— [SWING!] Velvet with a switchblade— [808 HIT!] Smile like a gentleman, move like a renegade. Velvet with a switchblade— I don't need to raise my voice, when the whole damn room already knows I made my choice. [OUTRO — SLOW CROON / SAXOPHONE SOLO] So pour another glass… Let the record spin… If they ask who walked through that door— [SMIRK] Tell 'em… the gentleman finally came to win. [SAX SOLO — FADE INTO 808 HEARTBEAT] BOOM… BOOM… BOOM…
