“Marvin Used to Say” has the tone of a soul lullaby, with muted funk bass, snapped fingers, and lightly strummed acoustic guitar. But this is not a cradle song — instead, all those soft textures serve as a backdrop forThe track opens with a bleak couplet: “Police killing my brother in the street/No justice no peace,” DeVaughn sings sweetly. “They said the world is changing,” he adds — “it ain’t for the better.
” He continues in this vein for several minutes — “Seems like from birth I was cursed/With a guilty complexion/Can’t even walk the street in peace/Without the fear of been arrested” — before pivoting towards a hopeful ending. DeVaughn pays tribute to the work of a series of activists and civil rights leaders, and the video ends with the singer and every member of his band raising their firsts in salute.. The Marvin in the track’s title is, of course,, whose birthday is next week.
.McFaul 👆🏿 💔