Lyrics
[[TOP PROMPT: raw UK grime / underground UK hip-hop with early-2000s pirate-radio energy and traces of 2-step garage. Around 138 BPM. Sparse, skeletal production: dry punchy kick, snapping snare, shuffled hats, sub-bass pressure, cheap metallic synth stabs, warped square-wave bass, occasional vinyl/dub FX and abrupt beat dropouts. Avoid modern drill polish. Verses should feel conversational, cheeky and slightly chaotic, with natural UK cadence rather than over-enunciated theatrical rap. Group adlibs should sound like actual mates crowded around one mic. Leave 4–8 bar instrumental gaps between major sections for bass/synth interplay. Mike’s section must dramatically change character: beat strips down, older rough pub voice enters almost spoken, then gradually locks into a surprisingly sharp grime flow. Keep imperfections, breaths, laughter and room energy.] [INTRO - 4 bars, pirate-radio chatter over stripped beat] (Yo-yo-yo, listen) From the flats to the ends, it’s mandem again, with a spliff in hand and a beat to bend. (Eh-yooo!) (Mandem rise!) [VERSE 1 - relaxed grime flow, loose conversational rhythm] Mandem out in the alleyway lurkin’ Bally on face but the eyes still smirkin’ Five deep, got a vibe and a burner One eye red from the loud, not bourbon Chat too much? That’s curtains We don’t talk long, we do learnin’ Man get clapped for the wrong word spurtin’ Big Mike calm, just sips his bourbon [PRE-HOOK - bass drops back] Mandem posted up, no plan Just bass, smoke, Rizla and fam Cold heart but we vibe like sun Mandem never walk, we run [CHORUS - gang vocals, simple and rowdy] Mandem skank on block Bump that grime in a stolen Vaux Old Mike still got the plot Old man bars, man still shell-shock [INSTRUMENTAL - 8 bars] [Square-wave grime bass riff, clipped garage percussion, synth stab answer phrases, distant crew shouts] [VERSE 2 - quicker flow, playful internal rhyme] I roll with olders, youngers, midlife Mandem broad like ends at midnight Mike got tales that twist like pitch pipe Used to roll deep when garage lit right Now he chill with a pint in peace Don’t get gassed, he’ll box your teeth Taught me how to wrap cling with ease Still drops bars on a beat like these [CALL AND RESPONSE - beat bouncing between phrases] (Who dat?) MIKE! (Who dat?) MIKE! Man with the pint and the pub-crawl life Rolls up slow in the Reebok whites Still got bars and a mind like knives (OG!) (OG!) [BEAT CUT] [MIKE SPOKEN INTRO - older male voice, dry, unimpressed, pub storyteller energy] Right... Listen up, lads. This ain’t no TikTok trend. We was makin’ noise when you lot was pretendin’. [MIKE VERSE - minimal bass + snare, starts spoken then increasingly rhythmic] Back in my day the decks went round Not yer phone, we spat on real battlegrounds Two-quid pint, I’d rinse six in an hour Had more lines than your broadband router Spat in the alley with a Rizla twist Now I spit in the booth and still take the piss Don’t test man with your apps and stats I’ve seen real war in the laundrette flats Call me old, but I’m cold with a grin One jab and you’re lookin’ like a wheelie bin [INSTRUMENTAL SWITCH-UP - 8 bars] [Garage shuffle enters underneath grime bass, chopped vocal shouts, turntable rewind, bassline mutates every 2 bars] [FINAL CHORUS - full crew, louder but still loose] Mandem posted up, no plan Just bass, smoke, Rizla and fam (WE OUT ‘ERE!) Cold heart but we vibe like sun Mandem never walk, we run (RUNNIN’ WILD!) Mandem skank on block Bump that grime in a stolen Vaux Old Mike still got the plot (WHO DAT?) MIKE! [OUTRO - beat almost completely disappears] [Mike, spoken] You lot don’t even know... We were grime before grime had a name. [pause] Now finish your pint... and get out me seat. real quick [crew laughter] [INSTRUMENTAL OUTRO - 8 bars] [Dirty square-wave bass solo, garage drums gradually falling apart, pirate-radio rewind and abrupt tape stop]