Jay-Z Decoded Book Cover

Wednesday, September 22 2010 1:51 PM EST | Posted by: B.Dot | Posted in: Blog, True Story

Jay-Z’s literary venture, Decoded, is set to hit bookstores November 16th. The cover, (which also doubles as Hov’s profile pic on Twitter) is an image from Andy Warhol’s 1984 “Rorschach” paintings. Inside, the book will feature illustrations and decode 36 of Jigga’s songs. Accompanying the hardcover edition, Random House plans to release Decoded as an eBook and iPhone/iPad application. Below is an excerpt from Jay on the project.

“When I first started working on this book, I told my editor that I wanted it to do three important things. The first was to make the case that hip-hop lyrics—not just my lyrics, but those of every great MC—are poetry if you look at them closely enough. The second was I wanted the book to tell a little bit of the story of my generation, to show the context for the choices we made at a violent and chaotic crossroads in recent history.  And the third piece was that I wanted the book to show how hip-hop created a way to take a very specific and powerful experience and turn it into a story that everyone in the world could feel and relate to.”

Comments (69)

  1. MannyBricks says:

    HOV. He got his own lane already..take dat!!

  2. WHAT THE FUCK IS YALL TALKING ABOUT ? says:

    WAIT DO I SEE THE BAPHOMET IN THAT COVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    KILLUMINATI !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    FUCK JAY-Z ( 2PAC VOICE )

  3. MAINO says:

    ” THE HIGHER YOU GET THE MORE SUCCESSFUL AND HOMO IT GET. ”

    BEST BELIEVE JAY-Z HAVE ALREADY GOT FUCK IN THE ASS MANY TIMES !!!!!!!

    IF U A UP AND COMING ARTIST THAT JUST TRYING TO MAKE IT……

    THE ONLY THING U GOT TO DO IS …………

    JUST BEND OVER AND YOU WILL MAKE IT STRAIGHT UP ……………REAL TALK !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  4. mean streets have potholes says:

    Why don’t Jay decode how Nas Ethered his ass and he couldn’t respond with another “takeover”..

  5. nobody cares says:

    sounds super boring!!!!! And the cover looks super lame.

  6. HOOD says:

    FUCK THE ILLUMINATI

  7. LEONARDO says:

    @MAINO

    MAJOR CO SIGN!!!!

    CAMELFACE IS HOMO AS FUCK! THAT’S THE REASON WHY HE SIGNED THAT FLOP KANYE!!!!

    HE IS MARRIED TO BEYONCE BUT STILL DON’T MANAGED TO HAVE KIDS!!! DISCOUNT BIGGIE IS ETHER GAY AS HELL OR ETHER STERILE.

    CAMEL-Z IS A SHAME TO THE GAME, HIS WIFE IS RICHER THAN HE IS.

    BIG, NAS, EMINEM & PAC ARE BETTER THAN BEYONCE’S WIFE.

    EM, PAC, 50, SNOOP & NELLY HAVE SOLD WAY MORE CDS.

    AUBREY LIES, CAMEL LIES, NUMBERS DON’T.

    “LEONARDO IS A BRAND NAME, LEONARDO IS A LEGEND, LEONARDO IS THE ILLEST”

  8. LEONARDO says:

    @AMAZINACE

    @WHAT THE FUCK IS YALL TALKING ABOUT ?

    @mean streets have potholes

    @nobody caresnobody cares

    FUCK GAY-Z & COCKAFELLA. A BUNCH OF HOMOS!!!!!!

    “LEONARDO IS A BRAND NAME, LEONARDO IS A LEGEND, LEONARDO IS THE ILLEST”

  9. Nathaniel says:

    COPPED. and i dig the lil explanation he gave for why he chose to do it. so necessary. in the words of my nigga mac DIESEL:

    “KEEP MAKIN’EM MAD JAY!!!!!! HA!!!!!”

  10. Shady213 says:

    WOW
    you got to be a stupid muthafucka to Not see Illuminati in this Pic!

  11. Lol says:

    Goddamn so much hate

  12. ......... says:

    this fool is a straight devil worshiper………. fuck the illuminati

  13. Jason says:

    Lol why does this dude keep changing his username and responding to himself lol. Lame ass commenters who refresh RAPradar every 5mins lol. And yea thats definitely k Baphomet Smh. Still love Jay though Haha

  14. petey wheatstraw says:

    leonardo is euro scum.

    you can smell the euro funk on him through your computer screen.

  15. B.Dot says:

    ^
    yeah, ur right. he’s actually from the Paris, Ile-De-France area.

  16. D-manded says:

    yh im not sayin shit but i do see the baphomet in there…..

  17. Jaska. says:

    I think all the ignorance on the planet is concentrated on RapRadar today. You fools just talk to be talkin’.

    I’m coppin’!!

  18. damone says:

    Lmao! I love jay haters. Yall make me laugh. Goat

  19. [...] and turn it into a story that everyone in the world could feel and relate to.” Jigga Shouts RR [...]

  20. TooBUSYtoHATE says:

    Jay-Z addressed ALL you haters multiple times, but you keep on coming back! Jay-Z fans are too busy enjoying GOOD music to worry about what your favorite rapper AIN’T DOING!!!

    Keep the hate rolling and Jay is just going to hustle that much harder. HAHAHAAHAHAHA

  21. B.Dot says:

    BUDDENS BOOK IS BETTER
    ^
    as if…joe budden book is basically ohhla.com print outs.

  22. Truth83 says:

    lmao if yall see baphomet in that rorschach inkblot, then yall got deep problems.

    -”The theory behind the test, created by Hermann Rorschach, is that the test taker’s spontaneous or unrehearsed responses reveal deep secrets or significant information about the taker’s personality or innermost thoughts”

  23. Jason says:

    Lol if you DONT see the Baphomet then somethings wrong wit you. I mean no one cares obviously but we’re not dumb either. Im a Jay fan but i got two eyes. ..not one (Pause)

  24. az5lyrics says:

    HOV IS THE SMARTEST NIGGA EVER TO TOUCH THE MUSIC BIZ
    I’M COPPING LIKE 5 COPIES THO COS IT’S GONNA BE A MAJOR BOOK LIKE BIBLE (HIP HOP’S BIBLE)

    HOV THE G.O.A.T.

  25. az5lyrics says:

    COSIGN @ B.DOT

    yeah, ur right. he’s actually from the Paris, Ile-De-France area
    ^^^
    DEAD

  26. Android says:

    Damage control on ‘freemason’, then back to eating and conversing with BILDERBERG members and now book named DECODED, with oblique covers. Nah son, its deeper than rap!

  27. Able danger says:

    He’s right about hip hop being poetry, read Relapse lyrics especially especially Stay Wide Awake that’s some modern day Edgar Allen Poe set to a Dre beat.

  28. dgtheenigma says:

    Lol if you DONT see the Baphomet then somethings wrong wit you. I mean no one cares obviously but we’re not dumb either. Im a Jay fan but i got two eyes. ..not one (Pause)

    ^^^

    This.

    Just because we can see the obvious doesn’t mean something’s wrong with us. Who gives a f**k what Jay has said in multiple songs, only sheep believe the shit he says on record anyways.

  29. [...] 5 PostsKanye West On Obama Jackass RemarkPosted by: B.DotJay-Z Decoded Book CoverPosted by: B.DotMiguel x J.Cole On 106 & ParkPosted by: B.DotMaino If Tomorrow Comes: The [...]

  30. CTE says:

    The GOAT i have no fear i have to amit it!

  31. Nathaniel says:

    @Truth83 co-sign

    “lmao if yall see baphomet in that rorschach inkblot, then yall got deep problems.

    -”The theory behind the test, created by Hermann Rorschach, is that the test taker’s spontaneous or unrehearsed responses reveal deep secrets or significant information about the taker’s personality or innermost thoughts” ”

    ^^^yep, no doubt. but it’s probably because a lot of niggas subconsciously associate Jay with these types of things as a result of the influence of the rumor mill. if niggas saw that image randomly at Olive Garden on the wall… niggas would see romaine lettuce and spilled alfredo sauce, hahaha.

  32. Drucifer says:

    I’m sure some internet nerds will come up with a way to connect that artwork to the Illuminati by this time 2morrow, lol

  33. ireland says:

    illuminati will ye all fuck up with this bullshit crazy paranoid wrecks loooooooooool

  34. [...] “Jay-Z Decoded Book Cover” and related posts (rapradar.com) [...]

  35. [...] On November 16th, Jay-Z will be releasing his first book Decoded, featuring illustrations and decodes of 36 Hova songs. The book, which will be released through Spiegel and Grau (via Random House Publishing Group), also contains art inspired by Andy Warhol (cover above). In addition to the hard cover edition, there’s also plans to release it via eBooks and iPhone/iPad applications. Heads up RR. [...]

  36. [...] lyric book Decoded, doesn’t drop for another two months. But here’s footage of him breaking down his verse from [...]

  37. Ill1 says:

    If you want to see Hip-Hop as poetry, it’s better to get that book “HOW TO RAP: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC”, seeing as there are like 100 REAL MCs interviewed in there, like Kane, G Rap, Chuck D, Pharoahe Monch, etc.

  38. Belize says:

    Damn yall hate Jay-Z that much???
    I don’t like his shit from late 00s, but his earlier shit is quite great. He is an intelligent businessman, and his knowledge is proved in the excerpt. He has definitely earned my respect. He not one pf my favorites, but he is one of the greatest.

  39. Belize says:

    And co-sign Hitler, haha..

  40. waynefan says:

    @Belize Why would you co sign a punk ass name hitler jack ass where you got to be a em stan lame ass!

  41. Jason says:

    Belize have no self respect

  42. Lol says:

    I will always support jay huge fan

  43. Yousef says:

    Jay-z is a faggot!!

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