Thoughts on Jay-Z's Book, Decoded

Until recently, I will admit that I was quick to criticize Jay-Z before praising him.  That doesn’t mean I didn’t like him, I’ve actually been a longtime fan, but I used to hate on how the masses blindly crown him the King of Rap.  It annoyed me that fans refuse to pay closer attention to others among Jay’s contemporaries who are often forgotten (Nas and Scarface, to name a couple), even though they deserve rap royalty status as much as he does.  However, over the past few years Jay has separated himself from the competition, even in my eyes.  One of the biggest ways he did this was through the release of his book, Decoded.

Here’s the synopsis – the book is split into four sections, each one representing a different time period during his life.  He writes an introduction for each section and for each chapter within the sections.  These autobiographical essays are articulate, thoughtful and quite illuminating.  Jay writes about the growing pains and triumphs he has experienced, and is more open about his personal life than he’s ever been (still no direct mention of Beyoncé though – hope that doesn’t ruin it for some of you).  Additionally, in each chapter he chooses 2-4 songs from his catalogue that relate to that time in his life and gives a detailed exposition of what the lyrics mean.  He defines slang words, clarifies metaphors and references, and explains the exact thoughts that were behind some of his deepest lines. 

The thing that impressed me the most about this book was the fact that Jay-Z did NOT use this book to accrue accolades for his own accomplishments – instead, he used his authorship to act as an ambassador for hip-hop culture and art.  He showed how the story of his life and the lives of the people he represented fit into the greater context of what hip-hop culture has done for people and what it has become over time.  For example, a short excerpt:

“The art of rap is deceptive.  It seems so straightforward and personal and real that people read it completely literally, as raw testimony and autobiography.  And sometimes the words we use, nigga, bitch, motherfucker, and the violence of the images overwhelms some listeners.  It’s all white noise to them till they hear a bitch or a nigga and then they run off yelling “See!” and feel vindicated in their narrow conception of what the music is about.  But that would be like listening to Maya Angelou and ignoring everything until you heard her drop a line about drinking or sleeping with someone’s husband and then dismissing her as an alcoholic adulterer.”

With insight like this into the depth of rap music and hip-hop culture in general, Jay-Z has even made Oprah stand up and take notice (and anyone who can convince Oprah to listen to the thoughts of a rapper who is not Kanye West has accomplished something).  If you call yourself a hip-hop head or a Jay-Z fan, do yourself a favor and purchase this book.  It even has a cool gold Rorschach inkblot on a white cover, so it works great as a coffee table piece after you’ve read it.