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

fellow rappers had to endure. In discussing his youth, he also included the reasoning behind some choices that were made by not only him, but other young black males during that time. These mistakes were mistakes that shaped Shawn Carter into one of the most influential rappers in today’s society. Lastly, Jay-Z wanted to enlighten readers on how hip-hop created an outlet for people to take their unique story, and share it in a way that can be relatable to anyone who looked at the lyrics deep enough (Carter).
The book starts off explaining Marcy housing resident Shawn Carter, a child who grew up in a time period where there weren’t a multitude of options to prosper, yet still managed to excel with his ability to rap and influence others. In the first chapter, Jay-Z really focuses on his natural affinity to beats, and his passion in writing and speaking about the world around him (Carter 13 ). As the memoir continues, he mentions the competitive nature of rap, and how theft of lyrics were a common atrocity (Carter 13-14 ). While speaking about his rise in the music industry, he also writes about his past as a drug dealer in the projects and local areas around Brooklyn (Carter 19-20). Throughout all of this, Jay-z included lyrics behind dozens of songs in detailed explanation. He also comments on his view of politics, race, and what it means to be successful in the United States. Decoded shows Carter’s metamorphosis from street hustler to being a famous hip hop artist.
Jay-Z once again reminds his audience that one of the reasons for the release of Decoded was because he wanted Hip-Hop and Rap to be acknowledged as art...poetry. In part one, Hov speaks of how rap is a different form of poetry. Instead of the words playing the only role, the beat is a vital tool for any rapper. When the beat is set, then that is when it allows the rapper to find their own rhythm with their life speaking lyrics (Carter 14). In his book, Jay-Z encourages the reader to compare the making of poetry to rap. He does this by answering the question on why hip-hop is controversial. Just like poetry, rap has a way of challenging you to think about the words in front of you in different ways. Jay-Z states that people do not know how to listen to the entirety of the music, only choosing to pay attention to the beat. Similarly, rap can be deceptive. Jay-Z explained that listeners tend to take a literal interpretation and make fast opinions, and in order to fully appreciate the work just like any poetry piece you must listen to the song (even the trivial ones) and figure out what is really being said (Carter 78 ).
Race played a large role in Shawn Carter's life. As an adolescent, there was a slim to none chance that prosperity was achievable for the young black males. He like many other rappers from his time were raised in areas where poverty was the norm. From gang wars to the invasion of crack on society, Jay-Z has experienced his fair share of history. Jay-Z especially blames the introduction of crack on the American society on former president Ronald Reagan and his “War on Drugs”. In this book, he writes “Ronald Reagan got Manhattan to blow”, basically stating Raegan, under the pretense of ending the usage of drugs, was the one who brought the crack trade into the ghetto. This in turn cause white America to place the blame predominantly on the minorities, specifically the black community. He also compares Reagan to Osama Bin Laden in order to compare the devastation both brought down upon New York City (Carter 109-110). While recognizing his mistakes, such as his continued focus on drug dealing during the early years of his introduction to rap (Carter 21-22), his history with bono (Carter 45-46,55), and shooting his brother who was on drugs himself at age 12 (Carter 119-120), Hov also notes that this violence was a product of his environment. He never once apologized for his drug dealer past, instead he chooses to embrace it as education. He goes as far as stating the notion of being a hustler is the very essence of hip-hop, and what gave him the motivation to build the empire he has today (Carter 15-21).
When writing about his ascension to the top, Jay-Z dedicates his career to the history/growth of hip hop and the association between race and poverty during his upbringing.

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

rap undoubtedly was an important issue to Carter. While Jay-Z normally doesn't rap about politics, he does speak out when it concerns a race issue. In Decoded, he states that he views his entire upbringing, and the experiences he encountered on his place as a black man in America (89-90). This book was Jay-Z's attempt at bringing knowledge on how to this day race is still an issue in America.
I found his argument compelling.

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

hop.