Midnight on the corner where the streetlights buzz Dust in the air like it used to was Old soul playing from a passing car Beat so low it knows who we are I hear the vinyl crack through the night Horn line bending left then right City breathing in 4/4 time Every bar like a warning sign — Rap — Yeah, Head nod slow to the kick and the snare Memory looping in the cold night air Footsteps echo on a concrete drum Where I’m from, we don’t run, we become Neon bleeding on a rain-slick street Heart skip sync with the breakbeat Same old story in a new cassette Love and debt, respect and regret I move low where the bassline lives Every scar got a groove it gives Truth don’t shout, it hums, it waits In between the hi-hats and the iron gates — Sung Hook — Hold me in the afterglow Where the dusty records go Spin me like a 45 Keep the broken dream alive In the dark we learn the tune Underneath a silver moon If the night won’t let us win Let the rhythm pull us in — Rap — Backseat sermon from a cracked-up speaker World getting colder, my circle tighter Loop that sample, let it ride Pain on the left, hope on the right Mama said keep your hands real clean Even when the deal turns mean I seen kings fall off the throne All that shine ain’t solid gold So I write my name in the low-end hum Where the trumpets cry and the ghosts still come Short phrase, sharp like brass Future tense in a minor past — Sung Bridge — Soft trumpet calling my name Nothing gold stays the same But the groove don’t lie to me It’s the only place I’m free — Sung Hook (variation) — Hold me in the afterglow Where the faded colors flow Spin me till the needle bends Let the record never end In the dark we find the light Buried deep in velvet night If the world won’t understand Let the rhythm take my hand
