BOOK REVIEW
Rereleased in November 2011 after the original book was already a New York Times best-seller, “Decoded” is part autobiography and part lyrical explanation by Jay-Z. There are stories of his rise from Marcy to Hollywood and he selects verses from popular hits such as “Big Pimpin” and “99 Problems” and notable album tracks like “Coming of Age” and “This Can’t Be Life” to dissect. Next to each page of rhymes is a breakdown of the meaning behind highlighted terms. We learn that when he refers to 38 arms in “This Can’t Be Life” he is speaking of “sleeve length for arms” or a“.38 long handgun.” When he refers to how he “sold all my weight wet” on “Where I’m From” Jay confirms that it meant “to sell crack so fast it didn’t even have to time to dry.” This clearly shows that “Decoded” can be used as a textbook when hip-hop education in the classroom becomes a standard part of the college curriculum.
LOVE IT: Through this book we get the chance to learn how Jay-Z thinks and how this approach has led to his success. We first see two different examples of how he addresses conflict. On “Moment of Clarity” Jay explains when he says, “I ain’t been rhyming like Common since” he is not dissing the conscious rapper but merely detailing how he came into the music industry to “reach as many people as possible — and to get paid.” Then when it appears that he is dissing Rocafella Records co-founder Damon Dash in “Lost One” Jay, he doesn’t mention his ex-business partner on the record but mentions Sam Rothstein from the movie “Casino” as a man who draws publicity for himself, “a shift into the limelight that destroys everything he’d worked for.” We get the point. In this rerelease the standout section of the book comes in the Afterword to the Expanded Edition. Jay-Z discusses the feedback he received from the original version and whether it can be compared to the “Autobiography of Malcolm X.” He also reminisces about Biggie and you actually see images of the lazy-eyed lyricist as he discusses him. When Jay-Z dies and the debate continues over who was the best emcee, “Decoded” will be used as exhibit A in his defense.
HATE IT: A Jay-Z book that only includes one Jay-Z photo on the back cover is a huge disappointment. Die-hard fans of Jay-Z already have his lyrics memorized and therefore this does not offer anything new. With all the verses discussed in the book the most controversial song of Jay-Z’s career is “Takeover” and a summation of this classic diss record would have made this a must-read. Any Nas biography that lacks an explanation on “Ether” or a Tupac book that avoids the meaning behind “Hit Em Up” would be considered incomplete. While Jay-Z added new songs and subtext to the latest version of this book, the bonus tracks should have consisted of songs that he wrote for Foxy Brown and Dr. Dre. When JayZ wrote “Still Dre” for Dre it marked a comeback for Dre and West Coast music and the compelling story would have been how he created the entire record including Snoop Dogg’s chorus. While co-author Dream Hampton attempts to make Jay-Z extremely intellectual and astute she overdoes it when explaining in his words that “99 Problems” is a “deliberate provocation to simpleminded listeners.” That is not Jay-Z talking. That is the journalist in Dream Hampton coming out.