Words by Zoe Zorka
With the recent announcement of the discovery of Drake’s journal from 2002 (set to be auctioned off in upcoming days), much of the anticipation surrounds a journal entry that is (allegedly) titled “The 10 Mack Commandments,” a suburban youth’s play on the Notorious B.I.G. song.
While the owner of the journal has teased us with one commandment (“Number 1/ Show up for your date kinda late/ If she say be there 6/ Then be there 8/ The last thing u wanna do is say u need her/ Come early a brother looking way too eager,”), the rest remain a mystery. Yet can over half a decade’s worth of music by the hip-hop legend offer the clues as to the other nine? After performing a (somewhat) comprehensive research process (loosely) based on academic methodology, our hypothesis as to some of his other lyrics are as follows:
- Don’t rule out long-distance relationships: In “Passionfruit,” Drake sings Passionate from miles away/Passive with the things you say and in “Hotline Bling,” he mentions leaving the city, but not giving up on the girl. Perhaps distance makes the heart grow fonder, but….
- Find a girl who won’t leave you on read. While “Hotline Bling” is a song about literally staying in touch through voice or text, the singer also mentions the importance of staying in touch on “One Dance” with You know you gotta stick by me/Soon as you see the text, reply me/I don’t wanna spend time fighting. Drake clearly believes in keeping communication lines open.
- Bad bitches are ok for a temporary fix, but find yourself a good girl for the long term. Despite all of his bravado, Drake routinely mentions looking for a good girl. In “Hotline Bling,” he sings: Used to always stay at home Be a good girl/you was in the zone.
- Find a girl that your mom will like. Known for praising his mother, “God’s Plan” lyrics, I only love my bed and my momma, pretty much sum up what’s important to the family-oriented artist.
- Find a girl that is her own authentic person. For an artist that could pretty much have any woman in the world that he wants, he regularly talks about being true to one’s self and avoiding the fakes. Case in point: Pray the real live forever/man Pray the fakes get exposed/ I’ve always been me/I guess I know myself on “Know Yourself.”
- Stay loyal to your crew. Regardless of relationship status, Drake clearly doesn’t want a relationship that takes away from his friendships. Known for routinely mentioning his squad,
- Find a girl that likes to party on occasion. As much as the artist likes dancing, table dances, and having a Hennessey in his hand, it’s obvious that he won’t be content to spend all of his weekend nights at home watching documentaries on Netflix.
- Get a girl that will be your biggest cheerleader. During some of his more introspective moments, Drake touches on how others’ opinions have made him question himself. In “All Me,” he sings: God damn, should I listen to everybody or myself? ‘Cause myself just told myself: “You’re the motherfucking man, you don’t need no help.” With a slew of industry and online haters, any girl of Drake’s needs to be in his corner through thick and thin.
- Find a girl that isn’t afraid to have fun. For a guy that unabashedly made a music video doing dad-level dance moves in a turtleneck sweater, Drake knows that you only live once. Life’s way too short to waste it on people that take themselves too seriously.
