Edd’s MANtra: It’s Crowded In Marvin’s Room

I take it by now that everyone has heard Drake’s new hit, “Marvin’s Room.” If not, here you go. You can Thank Me Later (har har):





For those of you unable to watch the video, or if you are just sick of Drake, you ain’t missing much. It’s the usual mopey Drake track – nagging his ex to take him back after he discovers she has moved on. And he does it in the most insincere manner possible. I’m not sure why girls consider this romantic, but whatever.


I can hate on Drake as much as I like (and you know I will) but “Marvin’s Room” has gained a lot of traction. So much traction, in fact, that Drake’s label, Universal Motown, was pretty annoyed that it leaked to the public instead of being thrown on iTunes for an exorbitant price. It’s not like folks wouldn’t have just illegally downloaded anyway, but who am I to question a billion dollar industry?


Anyway, since originality has disappeared like the dinosaurs and Ne-Yo’s hairline, artists have been crawling out of the woodwork to piggyback on the success of Marvin’s Room. Let’s look at a few of the remakes:







Remember cute little JoJo? The former teenybopper has gotten pretty cocky in her time off. Instead of crawling back to her ex, she cops a mean attitude, telling off her former dude and his boys. And she sounds pretty great doing it. It’s by far the best thing I’ve heard from her. Thumbs up





Speaking of young’ns who have grown up, Sammie has come a long way from his making 10-year-olds squeal on BET in 1999. Now he’s 24 and as foul-mouthed as every other R&B singer. His version of “Marvin’s Room” is slightly more aggressive and stalkerish than the original, giving it a bit more depth. I’m not feeling his imitation Trey Songz vocals, though. Thumbs in the middle





You talk about a track tailor made for my wayward Cousin Chris Brown – he wasted no time hopping on this. Cousin Chris tries to win his woman back by bragging about his sexual prowess, as usual. Sorry, Breezy, your “backshots” must not have been that amazing if she left in the first place. I’m gonna tell grandma on you.  Thumbs down





You probably don’t remember Teyana Taylor’s ’08 hit “Google Me,” which is probably a good thing. Her interpretation of “Marvin’s Room” doesn’t break new ground – she essentially just replaces “n*gga” with “new girl.” Her vocals are pretty amateurish, too. Thumbs down





I’m not sure if we’ve discussed Daniel De Bourg here on Georgia Mae, so here’s a quick description – if Javacia ever meets this dude she would dump me IN A SECOND. She is in love with the man and his voice. And even I can’t hate, the British crooner can sing. He doesn’t seem to do much with his life but cover Drake songs on YouTube and appear in the wifey’s dreams but I guess that’s good enough for her.


Here, he teams up with Jennifer Chung (yeah, me neither). The pair doesn’t break new ground – it’s basically a mashup of the Drake and JoJo versions – but their vocals are so outstanding that it doesn’t matter. While Drake’s pleas sound hollow and fake, De Bourg has aching and regret in his voice. And Chung sounds like she has moved on and isn’t looking back. It’s storytelling at its finest. Be sure to check this out. Thumbs way up


What’s your favorite version of “Marvin’s Room?”