Drake named this song after the Queen of Pop, Madonna Ciccone. She later went on Instagram to express her approval.

The subject matter deals with Drake attempting to hook up with an unnamed ting. He claims that making his sexual acquaintance can make her famous, much like how Madonna fucked her way up to the top by sleeping around with influential songwriters and music producers. The original idea of “Madonna” comes from the Francis and the Lights track, “Get In the Car.” Drake basically gives him a shoutout. Francis produced Drake’s past track, “Karaoke”.

This song (and “Legend”) sample Ginuwine’s “So Anxious,” which can be heard towards the end of the track around 2:20. The specific lines sampled are:

Soon as your shift is over
And I’ll be waiting, ‘cause I can’t sleep for reminiscing

Which again echos Drake’s plea for his girl to submit.

Drake added a second verse to this song for the CD version of the album.

According to Quentin Miller when addressing the infamous ghostwriting rumors, Drake had freestyled Madonna.