Websites around the world are reporting this week that a collection of lyrics Drake wrote while working at his uncle's furniture factory in Memphis are going up for auction.
Problem is, Drake's uncle never had a furniture factory in Memphis.
The tale stems from a TMZ post that claims a rep for Moments In Time auction house in Los Angeles said "Drake was working in his uncle's Memphis furniture factory as a youth and the lyrics were found in the dumpster when the factory eventually closed down."
In fact, teenaged Drake occasionally worked at the Toronto furniture factory owned by his maternal grandfather Reuben Sher. The factory was shuttered more than a decade ago. (Drake did spend his early summers in Memphis with his father Dennis Graham and his uncle, professional musician Larry Graham.)
In 2018, Moments In Time auctioned off a notebook that belonged to Drake that it said was found at Sher's Toronto factory. It contained “10 Mack Commandments” – Drake’s version of Biggie Small’s “10 Crack Commandments” – as well as several samples of his signature and credit card numbers.
Bidding for the latest collection of notes will start at $20,000 U.S., according to TMZ.
One sheet of paper shows the name “Sylvia” at the top along with a phone number with a Toronto area code.
“We’re in the age of conflict and knowledge / But we’re trapped in this cage of barbed wire and wreckage / with the freedom to go to college,” reads one sheet of paper. “The freedom to indulge and dissolve ourselves in the process / The law says you have witnessed an audience in the race of silence / Take refuge in a response that defines the face of violence.”
Another shows lyrics for “Come Spring” – perhaps the inspiration for “Come Winter” on Drake’s 2006 mixtape Room for Improvement.
“We had ladies / Hearts always get damaged or stolen / But this summer it’s different / It’s a two man operation.”
Another auction house offered a notebook full of Drake’s handwritten notes as well as lyrics for songs that ended up on his 2006 mixtape Room for Improvement in 2018. It also contained a personal “to-do” list by Drake that includes a wish list of guest artists (Maxwell, D’Angelo, Indie Arie, Usher), motivational quotes, and four practice autographs.