Decoded Book Report

Decoded was a glimpse into the rough environment of world known artist Shawn Carter, or better recognized as Jay-Z. In this book, Carter gives a clear analysis of not only his lyrics, but also the meaning of each lyric. He goes into detailed memories to steer the audience in the direction of a better understanding and acceptance to a different perspective than of those that are given via the media. In order to accomplish this, Jay-Z delves into three main topics. Firstly, he hoped to make a valid argument that hip-hop lyrics from any rapper are poetry if you looked behind the lines and examined them enough. While aiming to do that, Jay-Z was also determined to tell the story of his generation and the day to day life experience that he and other

He states that the events he witnessed and the ties he connected affected the way he viewed the world, which in turn altered his mindset into one of a hustler, someone who works to the best of their abilities at all times (Carter 121-122). The Marcy Brookelyn housing projects where Jay-Z was raised, was then as it is now the epitome of suffering and confusion on why the low-income families were not being able to achieve the “American Dream”. In part three, Jay-Z states “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” (Carter 140). In other words, these boys had fathers who walked out on them and the only thing they had were old records and the feeling of admiration for either the hustlers or the rappers. For this reason, Jay-Z feels as though it is ridiculous for politicians and government officials to use the media and other resources in order to shed a negative light on rap (Carter 97-103). The shame placed on hip-hop, is in a way ignoring the culture and history of many Americans who used this music as a way to relate to others in circumstances that are usually unsaid. It is clear that the view that was being placed on

This book was definitely an eye opener because while I have always been into Hip-Hop, I never once really delved into the history of Jay-Z. It was refreshing to read his raw honesty on situations that matter such as the 2008 elections, and Hurricane Katrina (Carter 123 and 254). I especially agreed with him when he recounts his small debate with Oprah Winfrey in which he stated “Oprah, for instance, still can't get past the n-word issue. I can respect her position. To her, it's a matter of acknowledging the deep and painful history of the word. To me, it's just a word, a word whose power is owned by the user and his or her intention. People give words power, so banning a word is futile, really…The key is to change the person. And we change people through conversation, not through censorship”( Carter 323 ). This is a statement that I believe everyone should read. It is a perfect description on the on going serious issue of racism within society. We need to stop categorizing and placing labels on groups of people and start recognizing that we are all human. Words are nothing without the power people put behind them. Once we stop stereotyping, that is when our society will be able to move onto the next step. While maintaining his aloof character, Jay-Z allowed his audience to experience a different side, one in which tells the historical view of the evolution of hip