Basement Before Four

[Verse 1]
Clock say 3:28
Eyes on that red second hand crawl
Basement buzz, brick wall paint chipped
Cheap couch sag, got my back in a sprawl
Ray in the cut, old hoodie, same jokes
Plastic table ringed up from last week’s plans
Lagunitas in my hand, foam kiss on my thumb
Bittersweet bitter, like “this all I am?”
[Chorus]
We in the basement before four
Half in a dream, half on the floor (yeah)
Sippin’ this Maximus, talkin’ ‘bout “more”
Knowing we stuck here till that door unlocks
Basement before four
Laugh so we don’t keep countin’ the cost
If they ask what we waiting for
Say, “Another life, but the shift ain’t off”
[Verse 2]
Buzz from the bottle, hum from the vents
Fluorescent flicker make my shadow look bent
Phone screen cracked, group chat all caps
They out livin’ it up, I’m just livin’ in laps
Ray say, “Bro, we gon’ blow one day”
I nod slow, watch the condensation run
Little cold river down a green glass neck
Feels like I’m chasing what already done
[Chorus]
We in the basement before four
Half in a dream, half on the floor (woah)
Sippin’ this Maximus, talkin’ ‘bout “more”
Knowing we stuck here till that door unlocks
Basement before four
Jokes cover up what we both done lost
If they ask what we waiting for
Say, “Another life, but the shift ain’t off”
[Bridge]
[Horns swell, distant crowd murmur under the vocal]
Plastic chairs like thrones in disguise
Timecard kingdom, punch in, punch lies
Take one more sip, let the minutes dissolve
If four o’clock come, will anything solve?
Ray tap the can like a snare on two
He say, “Toast to the ghosts of what we knew”
We raise ’em up, cheap light in our eyes
Basement saints under flickering skies (yeah)
[Chorus]
We in the basement before four
Half in a dream, half on the floor
Sippin’ this Maximus, talkin’ ‘bout “more”
Knowing we stuck here till that door unlocks
Basement before four
Laugh so we don’t keep countin’ the cost
If they ask what we waiting for
Say, “Another life, but the shift ain’t off”

rap, Moody ambient hip-hop with brass band flavor; dusty drums and subbass under eerie pads, male vocals in a late-night flow. Verses sit close and confessional, then chorus swells with lush horns, saturated claps, and distant crowd shouts. Energy rises from zoned-out mutter to head-nod chant, ending on a hazy, unresolved fade., dark ambient, ambient, pop, brass band, hip hop