Red Lights

According to sources associated with the artist's record label, "Red Lights" was written under unusual circumstances while Kareem Jacobs, performing as The Dead Broken Heart, was in Las Vegas, Nevada. The lyrics were reportedly drafted on the back pages of a motel Bible shortly after Jacobs had left a strip club and decided to record a song immediately.

Jacobs subsequently contacted a friend who owned a bar near the Las Vegas Strip and requested access to the venue's office for recording. Using a TASCAM 8-track recorder, a synthesizer, and an Alesis HR-16 drum machine, Jacobs recorded the track on-site rather than in a traditional studio setting. In an interview with a Dallas-area independent music journalist, Jacobs recalled that the bar owner suggested recording the song directly behind the bar while patrons and staff remained present. Jacobs described the idea as "insane" but stated that he was enthusiastic about the unconventional approach.

The finished recording incorporates ambient sounds from the bar, including background conversations, laughter, and crowd noise, which remain audible throughout portions of the track. The song opens with a prominent synthesizer riff and a female vocalization that Jacobs later claimed had been recorded earlier that evening at the motel.

"Red Lights" is characterized by a synth-driven arrangement and incorporates elements of electronic and dance-oriented music. The lyrics are written from the perspective of a narrator confronting intense desire and temptation. Throughout the song, lust is depicted as an overwhelming force that the narrator ultimately chooses to embrace rather than resist.

Several lyrics employ imagery associated with darkness, danger, and loss of control. Music commentators have interpreted lines such as "just can't help myself, devil's got a hold of me" and "eat my heart and make me feel it, show your darkness don't conceal it" as framing lust as a demonic or consuming presence. The song's narrative centers on surrendering to temptation despite an awareness of its potentially destructive nature.

When asked whether the song had been inspired by a specific dancer, Jacobs declined to identify any individual directly. In a later interview, he stated, "She knows who she is," and further claimed that the female vocalization featured on the recording was performed by the same person.