Drake – Marvins Room

Album:
Take Care
Year :
2011
RIYL :
Kid Cudi / The Weeknd / J. Cole

Look to the person on your left. Now look to the person on your right. If statistics are any indication, one of you has been or will be a Drake fan at some point in your lifetime.* If the drivel you hear on the radio is your only Drake exposure, this can be a pretty scary thought.

For a long time, I didn’t get the fascination with Drake. I knew that every girl I spoke with adored him. I read a quote somewhere that he was the most popular rapper because he uninhibitedly rapped about his emotions. “Thanks, but no thanks to that nonsense,” I confidently said. I wouldn’t let myself be a Drake fan. I was going to make a stand.

The day it happened was just like any other day. As I rode in a friend’s car on the way back from the grocery store, “Marvins Room” came on. At first I didn’t realize what was happening. I heard soft, inviting tones and a silky Canadian voice say “Cups of the Rose…”. As realization dawned, I panicked. I wanted to run away, to go anywhere but here. But it was to no avail…

The song continued. “Bitches in my old phone.” Crude, but continuing on with the same melodic, soft tones. “I should call one and go home. I’ve been in this club too looong.”

Shit. A one man captive audience, I fought the urge to tuck and roll out of a moving car. Out of options, I gave in to my plight.

Then, a strange thing started to happen. I began to hear what everyone was talking about. The actual lyrics themselves are far from profound. But they are undeniably lyrics that are made in response to powerful, albeit dark, emotions. While most rappers self-glorify as if in response to a complex, Drake uses Marvin’s Room to lay bare the pain of a hurt soul. And against all odds, I found myself liking it.

Courtesy of the unintentional honesty that comes from “being in the club too long”, Marvin’s Room tells the uncensored thoughts and emotions of a slighted and hurt individual: the thinly veiled anger and resentment towards an ex; the lingering love (or at least lust) underlying that resentment; the bald and largely irrational dislike for whoever was chosen next – a dislike resulting from the flawless logic that because they were chosen after you, they must have something that you did not; and finally, the artificial hubris of someone trying to bury these emotions and mask their wounded self-esteem.

While incredibly negative emotions, they are relatable to all but the luckiest few of us.

In the same vein as Lana Del Rey, Drake is an acquired taste. You won’t find Dre-inspired base tracks or an acerbic Shakurian edge in Drake’s music. Similarly absent are self-aggrandizing references to “making it rain” or a lifestyle filled with diamond studded timepieces and Maybachs. What you will find, however, is introspection, substance, and emotion, all delivered in an unconventional artist format that is unquestionably unique to Drake.

So, I succumbed. I’m unapologetically part of the Drake fan club. If you’re standing next to me, I’ll be the one in three. YOLO.

*Not scientific. At all. I’m an otter.



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Otterbuss likes to frolic and play in the ocean while listening to his favorite tunes. While swimming for his life to evade an Orca whale or some other predator, he prefers energetic rock or rap. If he's just floating on his back and eating shell fish in the sun, he prefers to just chill and listen to something a little more relaxing.

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