Memoirs are traditionally something you do in old-age, but Jay-Z is not one to get bogged down in what is typically done. Plus, HOV has probably lived two lifetimes worth of stories already, so when Decoded is released in November, we will undoubtedly feel less overwhelmed than if we waited to read his life-spanning memoirs in 40 years from now. Imagine the stories by then…
Talking to Rolling Stone, Jay-Z revealed that he will also buck the tendency of memoirs to be the subject’s memories. On top of his own memories, the book will also give insight from friends and family along discussions of the MC’s most controversial lyrics. Despite his hardened image, even Jay-Z found the experience overly emotional, which explains why the book was delayed some three years. “It’s too much,” the rapper revealed. “For the book, I was interviewed, people close to me were interviewed. So I was learning a lot of things I didn’t know as a child.”
But despite my jabs, it is likely to be really good, as it was put together by Dream Hampton, who was the first woman editor at The Source magazine. Unfortunately, Rolling Stone notes that because it was completed three years ago, there are many important Jay-Z events that would not be discussed, including a certain not-so-single-lady. Let’s hope they hammer out a few more chapters and refrain from leaving us stuck with nuggets like this: “It’s not anything I haven’t said in the past, in songs. It’s just more detailed. A song is three minutes long. A book doesn’t have to rhyme, and it has no time limit, so you can say exactly how everything went.”
Books are longer than songs. Smart man. Decoded hits stores November 16th.
