The
name of Jay-Z's first book is Decoded,
a curious title given that among the work of celebrated rappers his lyrics
might need perhaps the least decoding. Unlike the Wu-Tang Clan, for instance,
whose arcane allusions, slang neologisms, and syncretic philosophies have
spawned two books and counting, Jay-Z is decidedly plain spoken and
confessional. His most powerful lyrics—and there have been many since his 1996
debut, Reasonable Doubt—reveal anxiety, uncertainty, and an uncanny
awareness of human frailty to go along with the expected bluster and bravado of
the rap idiom.
Despite Jay-Z's
willingness to bare his emotions in song, we know precious little about the man
himself, Shawn Carter. The general arc of his life's narrative is clear: a
child of Brooklyn's Marcy projects transforms himself from aspiring rapper to
drug hustler to global superstar to corporate mogul. He is the self-made man of
American myth, remixed with a kick drum and a snare. Under the guise of his
invented name, Jay-Z has become less person than persona. As he once rapped
with characteristic concision: "I'm not a businessman, I'm a business,
man." Though he's released a staggering eleven albums in fourteen years,
the man behind the business still remains a mystery—often seen, but rarely
heard.
That is what makes Decoded such an unexpected and welcome gift. At over three
hundred pages, it is a multimedia, multi-genre extravaganza: part memoir, part
coffee table book, part annotated compendium of lyrics, part polemic in the
defense of hip hop's poesy. Jay-Z (with the aid of the respected hip-hop
journalist dream hampton) intersperses personal anecdotes, rhetorical
broadsides, and deep reflections with rich images and typography. From Andy
Warhol's striking "Rorschach" on the book's front cover to the
interior art, which ranges from Michelangelo's "Pietà" to a vintage
Little Orphan Annie button, the book is a visual feast.
What the book isn't—and
what many hip-hop fans have long anticipated—is a tell-all memoir. Though rich
in anecdotes, the narrative is organized thematically rather than
chronologically, underscoring the continuities across Jay-Z's career. The
themes range from poverty to fame, from sports to politics. At times, these
subject-driven sections leave one dissatisfied with the level of revelation and
reflection, such as in his cursory treatment of race relations. Combined,
though, they provide a penetrating glimpse into the mind of one of the greatest
American artist-celebrities.
As a collection of lyrics
alone, Decoded is an essential
contribution. It joins a growing body
of works, such as Paul Edwards's How to
Rap: The Art and Science of the Hip-Hop MC and Yale University Press's The Anthology of Rap (which I co-edited with Andrew DuBois), that place
the rap lyric in its proper context within the American popular songbook and
the broader tradition of poetry through the ages.
Jay-Z is a rapper who
famously doesn't write down his lyrics—or as he once termed it, "the only
rapper to rewrite history without a pen"—and seeing his words on the page
is a revelation. Syllables and sounds bounce off one another; clever figures of
speech unfold before our eyes. Throughout the book, he continually makes the
case for understanding rappers as poets, complex artists capable of rendering
the familiar unfamiliar, embodying paradox and tension in their lyrics, and
making things beautiful—and ugly too—as artists at their best always do.
"Turning something as
common as language into a puzzle makes the familiar feel strange;" he
writes, "it makes the language we take for granted feel fresh and exciting
again, like an old friend who just revealed a long-held secret. That's why the
MCs who really play with language [. . .] can be the most exciting for people
who listen closely enough, because they snatch the ground out from under you. .
. ." Decoded will do just that,
upending assumptions about hip-hop and leaving readers suspended in midair,
staring down at a new and complex ground beneath their feet.
Adam Bradley is the author
of Book of Rhymes: The Poetics of Hip-Hop and the co-editor of The Anthology of Rap.
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