Decoded (Book)

There's no BS in Jay-Z's book. It's about art, truth, hard work and a finely tuned vision of what he wants to accomplish as an artist.

Decoded is a book like no other: a collection of lyrics and their meanings that together tell the story of a culture, an art form, a moment in history, and one of the most provocative and successful artists of our time.

Jay-Z's memoir is scrappy but it succeeds in demonstrating that he should never be underestimated, says Caspar Llewellyn Smith

'Jay is jumping from one extreme to another, when in reality the 'buy vs. lease' decision is quite complex.'

'Decoded' is less a conventional memoir than an elliptical collage.

Short clip from interview with Jay-Z on Decoded

Yes, it's a vanity lyrics book by way of a biographical art book. It's also, surprisingly, a lot more.

Jay-Z is one of the most successful hip-hop artists of all time. On Fresh Air, he discusses growing up in Brooklyn surrounded by drugs and violence, and the stories behind many of his famous songs.

Decoded has 5,961 ratings and 745 reviews. Jeremy said: Jay-Z and Dream Hampton put together something which is not quite memoir, not quite manifesto and...

The rapper's memoir leaves plenty of questions about his life unanswered.

47 quotes from Decoded: "We change people through conversation, not through censorship."

We list the five most revealing excerpts from Jay-Z's decoded, including his thoughts on a miscarriage, his assault charge and Bono.

Decoded is the autobiography and memoir of rapper Jay-Z, published by Random House and released November 16th, 2010 on Hardcover and November 1st, 2011 on Paperback. The book combines lyrics, their explanations, anecdotes, reflections, and autobiographical information. Jay-Z explains in the book that the three reasons he wanted to write the book were to make a case for hip-hop lyrics as poetry, to tell a story of his generation, and to show how hip-hop is a story that everyone can relate to.