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When Jay-Z was writing his book, he had three major goals in mind. In this paper, I want to show how he achieved all of them.
The first goal was to show that hip-hop lyrics can be viewed as poetry. That means showing that they have the value of true poems rather than just primitive texts most people think they are. I think Jay-Z was incredibly successful in demonstrating that. He had analyzed his songs and has explained and “decoded” the messages they contain. For example, the lyric “It’s a dirty game so whatever is effective / From weed to selling Kane, gotta put that in effect, shit” (Jay-Z 269) can be seen as glorifying drug dealing, but Jay-Z explains and clarifies its deeper meaning. He tells us how it is about life in a brutal and corrupt town and trying to make a living. The lines like “Move your body like a snake mama / Make me wanna put the snake on ya” (Jay-Z 240) may seem crass and inelegant, but the author explains that this choice of words was meant to invoke the Indian roots of the song and create a playful party image for it. By putting the lyrics in context, Jay-Z explains the deeper meaning and rich history behind even the simplest of his songs and by doing that encourages the reader to look deeper into the hip-hop songs of other artists as well.
The second goal was to tell the reader about the author’s generation. That aim is also fulfilled well. Jay-Z tells the stories from his life chaotically and in no particular order. However, that just highlights the erratic, violent and confused life of his generation. On the same page he writes “If that sounds predatory, it’s because recruiting new workers is one of the most predatory aspects of the game” and “When I wrote a song for my first album inspired by the tension between older guys and recruits in the streets” (Jay-Z 67). He connects the stories from his teenage years and the stories about his music without creating a narrative. It is a collection of thoughts and descriptions which explain the life of the Jay-Z’s generation.
The final goal was to show how hip-hop can be a way to tell the public about the artist’s experience. Jay-Z achieved that by using the example of the “hustler story.” He explained in his book why it is important in the historical context. He describes how rap, as an art form, relates those stories and makes them exciting. The author writes “…hip-hop would be as boring as the news if all MCs did was report. Rap is also entertainment—and art” (Jay-Z 40). The use of metaphor and humor makes the message accessible to the general public. That way the rappers make people relate to their personal experiences and send a message to the audience. The analysis of the lyrics also helps the reader understand how this is achieved. In “American Dreamin” Jay-Z raps “Mama forgive me, should be thinkin bout Harvard / But that’s too far away, niggas are starving / Ain’t nothin wrong with aim, just gotta change the target” (Jay-Z 59). By explaining how that lyric relates to his own wish to get rich in the streets, he highlights the fact that the things he raps about are very personal. Providing such analysis is valuable since the true depth of the songs can be lost behind wordplay and metaphors.
Overall, I can conclude that Jay-Z successfully achieved all of his goals. He created a book which represents his own generation well and explained how the hip-hop music represents it. His lyrics analysis also helps the reader appreciate their depth and change their perception of the genre.
Works Cited
Jay-Z. Decoded. New York, NY: Spiegel & Grau, 2010. Ebook.
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