Yeah
'bout to enter
A new era of Harlem hip-hop
The streets of Harlem
They tell these stories to me

Struggle
Life movin' fast
Juggle
It's spiral now
That's my soul jumpin' over puddles
Walks down 110th
Whispers of lost lovers
We stand in the midst of the band's discovery
Temptation's just a calm life away from survival
Only thang stay in focus is my rival
Need you
Know what I mean
We shifted our tribe for a fiend
It was a trap but we alive
Need an electric boogaloo
Sippin' matcha tea in Malibu
Staying silent with the crew perhaps
The island be spinning last acts of greed
Gotta see that you may never be my speed

The streets of Harlem
They tell these stories told
With unpolished
Feel me
We gon' crack a code
Get that bag
And then we split it with the load
On Bodega cashers
They gon' know
The streets of Harlem
They tell these stories to me
Raw
From the heart
Straight organically
Get that bag
Then we split it with the family
Bodega cashers
They gon' see

Jump when them cops shout
Some came from outta town
And me
Right here been my home about thirty miles
From the central park
Harlem nights found a crown
Couple that got decrep' and shady with foul actions
I'm in the job that's got me screamin fuck rations
My two feet more than defeat over the soil
When parked up I'm getting spoiled
They had coals on 125th
It was real loyal
Bro goddamn
All of us are grinnin like
"What's your plan?"
Stayin solid down to it when we dead game's gettin a bit nuts
Even the air smellin' like glamour and envy
We bet not get stuck
But come and help us
When the universe give us the chance
We glowed up
New cloth
She said her grandma was elusive too
My gramps
Come see his tape too
He just turned dirt over with his right hand
Fill a pot with plants
Woke up the clan
Blue line

[Intro]
(Clock ticks loud when you're not calling
Nights taste dry can't fake stalling)

Tried cold coffee just to feel something
Streetlight flicker — not a sign just buzzing
You left shoes under my old desk
I stepped around 'em like we never met

Told my friends I’m feeling fine
(They don’t ask much anymore)
Scroll your name don’t hit “reply”
Still stuck knocking at a closed door

No right time to fall apart (ahh yeah)
Even wrong love leaves a mark (mm-mm)
Say I’m done but I rewind
(yeah yeah yeah)
Tried to lose you but you hide
inside my lines
Ohhh ooooh na-na

Keys in the bowl still turn for yours
Voicemail full I still record

You liked silence I liked shows
Talked through credits missed the lows
Now your jacket's in a bag I keep
Next to sweaters I don’t wear to sleep

Lied to strangers I don’t know
(Said I’ve burned your old photos)
Truth is folded in my coat
Every plan comes back to “almost”

No right time to fall apart (ahh yeah)
Even wrong love leaves a mark (whoa-oh)
Say I’m done but I rewind
(yeah yeah)
Tried to lose you but you hide
inside my lines
Ooooh you stay—na-na

Nothing broke at once it peeled
Like paint left out too long revealed
I didn’t cry but I still feel
Your side cold when nights turn real

No right time to fall apart (yeah yeah)
Even wrong love leaves a mark (mmh)
Say I’m done but I rewind
(can’t lie)
Tried to lose you but you hide
inside my lines
Ooooh (stay gone) na-na-na

I wake to the hum of a restless moon
Curtains swaying like ghosts in the room
The walls are painted with shadows that creep
Whispering truths that I’d rather not keep

The clock’s stuck ticking in a crooked rhyme
And the air feels heavy thick with time
I try to shake the echoes but they pull me in
A carousel of faces where the dark begins

Bad dreams they’re crawling through my mind (oh no oh no)
Stealing the stillness I can’t seem to find (yeah yeah)
Bad dreams they’re tangled in my head (can’t escape it now)
Chasing the silence but it’s gone instead (it’s gone it’s gone)

Steps in the hallway but the floorboards don’t creak
A distant murmur but no one speaks
The mirror’s reflection isn’t quite my own
A fractured version I’ve never known

I turn the light on but it cuts too thin
The shadows grow deeper they’re pulling me in
I try to find the exit but the walls just bend
A labyrinth of longing with no end

Bad dreams they’re crawling through my mind (can’t get out can’t get out)
Stealing the stillness I can’t seem to find (oh I’m losing it now)
Bad dreams they’re tangled in my head (no way out no way out)
Chasing the silence but it’s gone instead (it’s gone it’s gone)

Lost in the haze where the night unfolds
Every corner hides a story untold
Fingers reach but they slip like smoke
And the weight of the dark wraps around my throat

If I could wake up would the room stay still?
Would the morning sun break this bitter chill?
But the curtains fall in the same slow dance
Caught in a fever I can’t outlast

Bad dreams they’re crawling through my mind (oh don’t let me go)
Stealing the stillness I can’t seem to find (somebody help me now)
Bad dreams they’re tangled in my head (no way out no way out)
Chasing the silence but it’s gone instead (it’s gone it’s gone)

Ladies and gentlemen
From Vienna to Miami
From the palace to the party
They call him
Disco Machiavelli

Not a prince
Not a saint
Just trouble in a velvet jacket

He walks in late with a golden cane
White silk shirt and a champagne stain
Everybody knows but nobody tells
He buys bad luck and sells it well

Midnight phone no caller ID
Three black cars on a one-way street
He says “my dear don’t follow the rules”
Then disappears by the swimming pool

He’s got the city on a string
He makes the mirror wanna sing
Too much charm too much heat
Dancing like a scandal in the street

Disco Machiavelli
Oh-oh he’s ready
Heart so heavy
But the beat so steady

Disco Machiavelli
Ciao baby ciao
Everybody wants him
Nobody knows how

Machiavelli
Machiavelli
Nicht so schnell mein Freund

She met him once at the Hotel Noir
Red wine smile and a stolen car
He said “love is politics darling you’ll see”
Then left her name on the balcony

Velvet gloves dangerous plans
Kissing rings on invisible hands
He don’t dance he negotiates
With the DJ and the city gates

He’s got the night under control
Silver shoes and a borrowed soul
Too much style too much speed
Living like the headline of the week

Disco Machiavelli
Oh-oh he’s ready
Heart so heavy
But the beat so steady

Disco Machiavelli
Ciao baby ciao
Everybody wants him
Nobody knows how

Signorina
Listen carefully
Power is a dance floor
And everybody pays entry

He said it with a smile
Then he vanished in the bassline

Machiavelli
Machiavelli
Dance with the devil
But dress like heaven

Machiavelli
Machiavelli
Too much drama
Too much leather

Disco Machiavelli
Oh-oh he’s ready
Heart so heavy
But the beat so steady

Disco Machiavelli
Ciao baby ciao
Everybody wants him
Nobody knows how

Disco Machiavelli
Oh-oh he’s ready
Velvet panic
Television confetti

Disco Machiavelli
Ciao baby ciao
He was here for a minute
He’s a legend now

From Vienna to Miami
From the palace to the party

Disco Machiavelli

Ciao baby ciao

I’ve got a feeling it’s pulling me near
A quiet whisper only I can hear
Through the static it’s breaking the haze
A guiding light in this endless maze

No map no compass I don’t need a plan
Just hold on tight we’ll make our stand
The road’s unwritten but I see the glow
The signal’s clear it’s time to go

Ooooo Aaaaaa can you feel it now?
The rhythm of my heart is calling out somehow
Ooooo Aaaaaa let the moment flow
No need for direction I’m the way you know

Step by step we’re chasing the fire
Every beat takes us higher and higher
Trust in the spark it’ll lead the way
To brighter nights and golden days

No stars no signs we’ll make our own
With every step we’re carving stone
Together we’ll rise no way to fall
The signal’s loud I hear it call

Ooooo Aaaaaa can you feel it now?
The rhythm of my heart is calling out somehow
Ooooo Aaaaaa let the moment flow
No need for direction I’m the way you know

Close your eyes feel the world spin slow
Where we’re headed only we will know
Through every twist through every turn
The fire inside let it burn

Ooooo Aaaaaa can you feel it now?
The rhythm of my heart is calling out somehow
Ooooo Aaaaaa let the moment flow
No need for direction I’m the way you know

Follow the signal follow me through
Amazing days are waiting for you
Ooooo Aaaaaa can you feel it rise?
The future is ours beneath the skies

Morning hits the window late
Coffee’s cold but I feel awake
Your name’s still on my playlist
Didn’t mute it didn’t break it

I learned how silence sounds
When you’re not around
But it’s lighter than I thought
Guess I figured something out

I don’t need a sign tonight
No big speech no rewrite
Just walking straight ahead
With the things you never said

I don’t need a brand new heart
Mine still works just different parts
Some are louder some are calm
Still beating still holding on

I don’t need a clean restart
Just a little open space to start
I’m okay where I am
Yeah I’m better than I planned

City moves at normal speed
People laughing next to me
Nothing feels dramatic now
And that’s what I like about it somehow

Your jacket’s gone I kept the time
Not the fights not the lines
I don’t miss the way we broke
Just the jokes we never wrote

No more circling the same streets
No reruns in my head this week
I’m not running I’m not late
Just finally on my way

I don’t need a brand new heart
Mine still works just different parts
Some are louder some are calm
Still beating still holding on

I don’t need a clean restart
Just a little open space to start
I’m okay where I am
Yeah I’m better than I planned

If you ever wonder how I’ve been
I sleep fine I breathe fine
I learned how to let things end
Without losing who’s inside

I don’t need a brand new heart
No repair kit no fresh start
It’s been tested it’s been tried
Still alive on the inside

I don’t need to change the past
Just move forward slow and fast
I’m okay where I stand
Yeah I’m better than I planned

Better than I planned
Still here still me
Yeah I’m better than I planned

You took the long way home again
Counted every coin you spent
Said the city had no manners
But you kept your Sunday sense

There’s a man at the station
With a paper and a grin
Says the world keeps turning
But nobody clocks in

You had plans on a napkin
Now they’re folded in your coat
You keep laughing at the timing
Like it’s some private joke

There’s a queue at the bakery
There’s a dog outside the bank
There’s a song from a taxi
That you almost want to thank

You don’t need a big answer
You don’t need a grand escape
You just need one decent Tuesday
And a bit less on your plate

So you straighten your collar
Let the bad news pass
Put your hands in your pockets
And you make it last

Not winning not losing
Just doing the math
Some days get better
Better by half

Better by half
That’s good enough
A little less worry
A little more luck

Better by half
No golden plan
Just one more joke
And a steady hand

You don’t need glory
You don’t need proof
Just somebody laughing
At the back of the room

Better by half
That’s good enough
A little less worry
A little more luck

Your cousin had a theory
About getting out clean
Then he bought a small van
And a coffee machine

Now he parks by the market
With his radio low
Says the secret is simple
Never let Monday know

You remember old trouble
With a smile on its face
How it sat beside your future
And took up all the space

But you made a little progress
On a very plain day
Paid one bill sent one message
Threw one bad thought away

So you straighten your collar
Let the bad news pass
Put your hands in your pockets
And you make it last

Not winning not losing
Just doing the math
Some days get better
Better by half

Better by half
That’s good enough
A little less worry
A little more luck

Better by half
No golden plan
Just one more joke
And a steady hand

You don’t need glory
You don’t need proof
Just somebody laughing
At the back of the room

Better by half
That’s good enough
A little less worry
A little more luck

No parade no headline
No speech to rehearse
Just a small kind of fortune
When it could have been worse

You can carry your worries
But loosen the strap
Life may not fix you
But it cuts you some slack

Better by half
That’s good enough
A little less worry
A little more luck

Better by half
No golden plan
Just one more joke
And a steady hand

You don’t need glory
You don’t need proof
Just somebody laughing
At the back of the room

Better by half
That’s good enough
A little less worry
A little more luck

You took the long way home again
Counted every coin you spent
Said the city had no manners
But you kept your Sunday sense