Released: November 16, 2010
From Part 4
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.
All of those threads came together at a pivotal moment for me, the moment when I fully crossed from one life to another.
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.
All of those threads came together at a pivotal moment for me, the moment when I fully crossed from one life to another.
more tracks from the album
From the album
- Decoded (Excerpts) (2010)
JAY-Z popular songs
- Holy Grail
- Part II (On the Run)
- Empire State of Mind
- The Story of O.J.
- 4:44
- Tom Ford
- FuckWithMeYouKnowIGotIt
- 99 Problems
- Oceans
- Renegade
- Kill Jay Z
- Picasso Baby
- Takeover
- Family Feud
- Open Letter
- Run This Town
- Public Service Announcement
- Song Cry
- Smile
- Big Pimpin’
- Heaven
- Bam
- Beach Is Better (Interlude)
- ’03 Bonnie & Clyde