THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF MIXTAPE MEMOIR

10 Commandments for writing a Mixtape Memoir(+)

I. THOU SHALT CHOOSE ONLY ONE SONG TO IDENTIFY WITH A CHAPTER (Even though a chapter in life may be identified by many songs.)

II. THOU SHALT SELECT MORE THAN 1 BUT, NO MORE THAN 36 SONGS PER BOOK (72 if writing a sequel, 108 maximum if writing a trilogy — because having clear limitations is a good thing when working with infinity.)

III. THOU SHALT ONLY CHOSE ONE SONG PER PERFORMING ARTIST OR MUSICAL GROUP (E.g., Teddy Pendergrass was the lead singer for Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, but you must choose between a Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes song with Teddy Pendergrass singing or Teddy Pendergrass singing as solo artist, Teddy Pendergrass.)

IV. THOU SHALT CHOOSE COVER SONGS BUT, ONLY ONE VERSION OF THE COVER SONG IS PERMITTED (The song does not have to be the one performed by the original artist.)

V. THOU SHALT ONLY USE A SONG IF IT HAS BEEN RELEASED PRIOR TO THE EVENT THAT OCCURS IN THE TIMELINE OF THE OPENING OF THE CHAPTER OF THE MEMOIR (E.g, Michael Jackson’s ‘Billie Jean’ cannot appear before 1983 in the timeline of the book.)

VI. THOU SHALT DIVIDE MEMOIR INTO “SIDE A” AND “SIDE B” AT THE MIDPOINT (There are only two sides to every mixtape.)

VII. THOU SHALT WRITE: “EJECT. FLIP OVER. HIT PLAY.” AT THE END OF SIDE A (There is no need to write Eject. Flip over. Hit play” at the end of “Side B” unless thou wants to rewrite the memoir.)

VIII. THOU SHALT LISTEN TO EACH SONG 108 TIMES TO ENSURE THE LYRICS ARE ACCURATE (Do not trust Artificial Intelligence to express how you feel but you can use AI to help you understand that 108 is 3 cycles of 36 and represents your life, per Deng Ming-Dao.)

IX. THOU SHALT BE POMOSEXUAL WHEN WRITING OR DANCING TO A SELECTED SONG (Just don’t get caught doing either with your hands above your head.)

X. THOU MUST ADHERE TO THE GODFATHER’S GOLDEN RULE: “ITS GOT TO BE FUNKY!”