Jay-Z decodes his life in new book

Associated Press

NEW YORK

Do you want to know when Jay-Z and Beyonc plan to have children? Or about those behind-the-scenes moments hanging out with Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow? And what really happened between Jay-Z and Roc-A-Fella co-founder Damon Dash?

You won’t find those kind of gossipy nuggets in “Decoded,” Jay-Z’s first book, published Tuesday (Spiegel & Grau, $35). But that’s not to say it doesn’t contain plenty of revealing moments.

“Decoded” provides unique insight into what shaped and continues to shape the 40-year-old hip-hop icon, from being abandoned by his father, his early mistakes in the rap game, and his approach to creating the music that has defined rap for almost two decades.

But Jay-Z mainly does it the way he best communicates — through his lyrics. By “decoding” his songs — some famous, some obscure — he offers readers a unique vantage point of the mogul born Shawn Carter.

Q. Why did you decide on this kind of book rather than a traditional autobiography?

A. I wanted to tell the story of a generation. Through my story, I’m telling the story of a generation of kids, and we grew up in one of the worst eras ever. ... Just to tell the story of my generation through music, and through that give a deeper understanding to rap lyrics and to make the case that rap is poetry. ... Maybe there are other layers and meanings and things to be decoded in songs.

Q. What was it like going back through songs you hadn’t visited in a while?

A. That was fun. It was almost like looking at an old photo album, like going back through those emotions and feelings. Looking at this song was like looking at me with a high-top and the four-finger ring.

Q. You discuss the assault charge you faced early in your career. What are your thoughts on stars such as Lil Wayne and T.I. who have fallen into those situations?

A. The same sort of thing almost happened to me, and I pride myself on being a disciplined person. I was looking out for that sort of thing. I was trying to avoid it, and it still happened to me, so it just goes to show how difficult it is. Once you become a so-called celebrity, your life or your decisions don’t stop. You have to make smarter decisions, because you’ve grown up living your life a certain way.

Q. What do you make of President Obama’s recent struggles?

A. I believe the same thing about Barack that I believed at day one. What he represents is bigger than any political agenda that he can pass across the House, Senate or whatever. I think that right now he’s going through a difficult period because people are putting the last eight years on his table and they’re judging him by it.

Q. You talk in the book about how you agreed with what Kanye West had to say about President Bush, but Kanye recently apologized for saying Bush didn’t care about black people during Hurricane Katrina. What are your thoughts on that?

A. I think what Kanye went through was, he himself became that, over the Taylor Swift incident. People said he was racist. And he’s not a racist person, so it made him reflect on the comments that he made. But I 100 percent agreed with the comments that he made, because again ... it felt like it was being done to black people. Like all you saw on the news was black people on the news with help signs and all this stuff, and then you have this picture of the commander in chief, who we all rely on, just flying by. It’s like, What is that? ... If that had happened anywhere else besides New Orleans, would the response (have) been so slow? Would Bush (have) been on the ground? You have to ask these sort of questions. Just the fact that he thinks that the worst thing that happened to him is Kanye saying something about him. Like, what? That alone shows you where his mind is. Are you kidding me?