I finally finished Jay-Z's book Decoded 56 days after purchase. It took me a while as I had to sneak in reading time between family obligations and work. I found myself informing people that I started reading this book. It always generated good conversation. One woman asked what made me buy the book. I told her it was mostly curiosity. In a conversation with a student I was told that she enjoyed "rhyming". I had the book with me so I let the student take a look at the book.
Eventually I picked up the book to finish it again. I read all of the text in the book and skimmed the massive amount of lyrical interpretation. There are a few quotes that I absolutely loved as I neared the end of the book. One quote speaks of rappers, DJs and producers:
"We were kids without fathers, so we found our fathers on wax and on the streets and in history, and in a way that was a gift: We got to pick and choose the ancestors who would inspire the world we were going to make for ourselves."
It's the notion that inspiration can be taken from inanimate unfamiliar resources that struck me. People make countless excuses for themselves...why they did or did not do something. To me the quote takes away the excuses and pushes people to FIND INSPIRATION. In many cases, once inspiration is found, new life and action is generated and it's much easier to move forward even if you expend more energy and do more work. If inspired, sometimes working can be a pleasure. Being effectively inspired is often underestimated. After reading this book I was compelled to place a high priority on staying motivated and embracing innovation.
I must say I did not expect to be motivated after reading this book. I initially was intrigued by the fact that a rapper would write a book. I think it's because my perception of rap is that it's often hard to understand and the English is so broken that I often give up listening. Yet, I am quite glad that I read Jay's Z's book Decoded. It reiterates the importance of inspiration, expression, truthfulness and passion.
MY ORIGINAL REVIEW OF THIS BOOK IS BELOW
The way I found out about Jay-Z as an artist is through his collaborations with other singers. Other than that I have never bought his music nor could I name any of his songs. When I learned that he wrote a book I decided to buy it. I was intrigued at how so many revere him as God-like in the hip-hop world and I could not recall any of his songs if my life depended on it. So far I have read half of the book and it has provided a high-level account of Jay-z's ascent and how hip-hop became such a force.
To begin I did a quick scan of the book "Decoded" by Jay-Z. The book is tastefully done and would look great on a coffee table. It is loaded with content including images and commentary on Jay-Z songs and concerts. This will be a reference book for Jay-Z fans around the world.
I read part one a couple of days after my quick scan. It paints a vivid picture of the rapper's early years in New York and the sources of his inspiration. It definitely portrays a human picture of this artist. The book discusses mentoring. Apparently, the rap community is quite passionate about the craft and passing it along to others. In addition, I better understand the song "99 Problems..." Surprisingly, I also found myself using a dictionary as I read this book.
In part two, the writer reviews his encounters with leaders in the music industry. He comments on the fierce competition in hip-hop and how he worked hard to fund and pursue his dream even after major setback. There were two other things that I enjoyed about this section: One, Jay-Z's version of the controversy with a popular champagne. Amazing! Two, the author shares a critical key to long-term success. Yes, I had heard it before. However, looking at it in the context of the book up to this point was impactful.
I've now started part three of Decoded. In this chapter the significance of the performance at the Glastonbury Festival in England was underscored. After reading I thought of Jay-Z as an entertainer rather than just a rapper. He read his target audience appropriately and provided an amazing show. One of his comments about how young people listen to all kinds of music from all over the place really hit home. The world definitely seems smaller. In addition, this section includes important lessons that he learned from his father, hip-hop culture and his mentor.
I am still finishing the book. I've read one section at a time. What's interesting is that I attended a concert at the local high school and I took the book with me. A friend of mine saw it and immediately asked if the book was good. I said yes. She is a huge fan. I asked her what she liked most about him and she starting talking about his ability to do double entendre and his depth of rapping skills. She scanned the book and said that she had already known the majority of the information in the book except for maybe one or two things. From that experience I decided that this book is intended for those who do not know Jay-Z and his music. This book definitely introduces him well.
My daughter and husband saw that I was reading this book and have now perused it. They each have declared that, they too, would like to read. The impressive thing to my husband is the entrepreneurship. My daughter likes the interpretation of lyrics.
