Politician Brad Bradford may not be a top contender in the upcoming June 26 mayoral by-election, but his campaign to take Toronto's top job is easily a front-runner in the meme department.

And now there's even a song about Bradford's latest campaign gaffe, one that is quickly overshadowing the politician's earlier meme-fodder trips to a patty shop and a subway station.

Bradford's most memorable moment in this week's mayoral debate was his attempt to explain the rental crisis, making an example of his struggling "best friend" Paul, who rents out the city councillor-turned-mayoral-candidate's basement for $1,000 per month.

The anecdote backfired spectacularly for Bradford, whose tweet sharing the story of Basement Paul was met with general ridicule, memes, and even a #freepaul hashtag joking that the basement dweller is being held against his will.

Toronto politician getting roasted over dude who lives in his basement https://t.co/x24QnO7gkf #Toronto #TOpoli

— blogTO (@blogTO) May 16, 2023

The #freepaul movement took a hilarious leap forward on Wednesday, when a local group actively campaigning against Bradford and other right- and centre-right candidates released a song about the now-legendary basement-dwelling friend titled Paul's In The Basement.

#freepaul https://t.co/GHhLSFw6wo

— Toronto Citizens Collective (@TOCitizensCo) May 17, 2023

For those at work without access to headphones, the autotuned banger jumbles together Bradford's own words (though not as he actually said them) with lines like "I've got a developer wife, and we're doing well. And Paul? Paul's in the basement,"

The track closes with the jab, "Even if my mayoral hopes end, I'll still get 12 grand a year from my friend."

Even Bradford has caught wind of the song, and shared his real-time reaction to this audio masterpiece on social media.

"Wow, I don't remember saying ANY of that," said Bradford.

"It's not very nice, but if this can bring some more attention to the housing crisis here in Toronto and the steps that I'm going to take to solve it, well then, hashtag Free Paul. Let's Free Paul, build more housing."

My team told me that there’s a song going around…. So I had to hear it for myself.

Let’s #FreePaul and build more homes.

👉 https://t.co/z9RQplV1ZP pic.twitter.com/QmYflt0EVQ

— Brad Bradford✌️ (@BradMBradford) May 17, 2023

Bradford appears to be taking the joke in stride as the song gains traction, currently streamed over 11,000 times as of writing.

Bradford currently sits fourth in mayoral polling, however, he leads candidates in the number of Brads per name with a commanding 2-0 edge over the 101 other names in the running for mayor.