Intro – 8s, night wind, neon hum] Marco (calm): Funny thing about cities… They don’t choose light. They choose what works. Isaiah (steady): Then you forgot who they belong to. ⸻ [Verse 1 – Marco | 30s] Look around—steel veins, sleepless eyes, Promises fade when the sirens cry, You lift hope, but hope gets tired, I watched belief get people fired. I ran the routes, I cut the feeds, Saw what power really needs, Light inspires— Dark sustains. I picked the side that handles pain. Isaiah (spoken): You picked the side that profits from it. ⸻ [Pre-Chorus – Back & Forth | 12s] Marco: I picked reality. Isaiah: You picked fear. Marco: Fear keeps order when love disappears. Isaiah: Order built that way always breaks. ⸻ [Chorus – Clash | 25s] Marco: Who runs the city when lights go out? Isaiah: The people—you forgot that part. Marco: Crowds need walls, not open doors. Isaiah: They need a reason worth standing for. Both: Say it loud, let the skyline hear— Light or dark decides this year. ⸻ [Verse 2 – Marco (Confession) | 30s] I betrayed you ’cause I’ve seen the end, Heroes fall, symbols bend, They cheer you now, they’ll turn one day, I chose control so I wouldn’t break. I didn’t hate you—I feared the cost, Of trusting light and still getting lost, The dark made sense, it spoke my name, Promised me power instead of pain. Marco (quiet): I was tired of losing. Isaiah: You were scared of standing. ⸻ [Bridge – Tension | 15s] Marco: You think you’re different? Isaiah: I know I am. Marco: Prove it—without burning the land. ⸻ [Verse 3 – Isaiah (Resolve) | 30s] I carry scars you can’t compute, Every loss sharpened my truth, Light ain’t soft, it’s discipline, It stays when quitting calls it in. You say dark sustains— I say it starves, Feeds on silence, feeds on hearts, I don’t rule fear, I don’t sell peace, I stand with people till the streets believe. ⸻ [Chorus – Isaiah Rising | 25s] Isaiah: The city runs on choice and care, On showing up when it’s unfair, You chose control, I chose the climb, Different roads, different lines. If darkness thinks it owns this place— Watch it blink when hope takes space. ⸻ [Beat Drop – 2s silence] ⸻ [Power Surge – Bridge | 20s] (Air crackles, lights surge) Marco (uneasy): That power— You’re pushing too far. Isaiah (calm, charged): No. I’m pushing through. This is what happens When light stops asking permission. ⸻ [Final Chorus – Clash | 30s] Marco: Power corrupts—remember that! Isaiah: Only when fear holds the map! Marco: I’ll run this city from the dark! Isaiah: Then watch it rise— Block by block! Both: Tonight we answer, clear and true— Who runs the city… Me or you? ⸻ [Outro – 12s, ominous resolve] Marco (low, smiling): Then let the city decide. Isaiah (glowing, firm): It already has. (The lights surge brighter. The night holds its breath.)

Who Runs the City