Drake, ‘Marvin’s Room’ – Song Review

Drake perfectly captures the mood of a drunken late night on 'Marvin's Room,' a new song from his upcoming sophomore album 'Take Care.'

Drake's storytelling has never been better. He paints a scene in which he's wasted late at night, missing an old love. It's vaguely similar to the storyline of Lady Antebellum's 'Need You Now' -- except that Drake knows his ex has a new man, and he doesn't care.

The song rides a hazy, subdued beat designed to match the narrator's cloudy state of mind. The track opens with a clip of a woman talking on the telephone to a friend about her night out. Singing softly and slowly, Drake reveals his intentions:

"Bitches in my old phone / I should call one and go home / I’ve been in this club too long / The woman that I would try is happy with a good guy / But I’ve been drinking so much that I’ma call her anyway and say / F--- that n---- that you love so bad / I know you still think about the times we had / I say f--- that n---- that you think you found / And since you picked up I know he’s not around."

The song continues with sections in which Drake tries to coerce his unwilling ex over the phone. "I'm just saying, you could do better," Drake sings repeatedly throughout the track. His efforts ultimately go unrewarded. "You're not gonna come? Guess I'm 'bout to just kick it here then," he says, dejectedly.

Even though he's trying to get his ex to cheat on her current guy, you almost end up feeling bad for Drake in the end, because the portrait he's painted is that of a desperate, lonely man. Not many rappers are capable of writing something with such an emotional impact.

Like 'Dreams Money Can Buy,' our first taste of 'Take Care,' 'Marvin's Room' won't be a single. But it makes us awfully excited to hear the rest of the album.

Listen to Drake's 'Marvin's Room'