Two weeks ago I bought a book! For those of you that know me it’s a pretty big deal as I’m not much of a reader!   I was at Wellington airport looking round Whitcoulls waiting for my flight to Auckland and stumbled upon Jay-Z’s book “Decoded”. I didn’t know he had written a book, so the minute I saw it I knew I had to have it. I have always been a pretty big fan of Jay-Z and was really looking forward to reading it to find out more about his life and rise to fame.

I have always been quite interested in autobiography’s by musicians, as an aspiring musician myself I am always wanting to learn the stories of how some of the worlds most famous singers and rappers got to where they are today. Having read a few musician’s autobiography’s such as “Scar Tissue” by Anthony Kiedis who is the lead singing of The Red Hot Chilli Peppers. I find the repetition of being on drugs and getting clean multiple times throughout the book gets a bit boring after a while, but Jay-Z’s book really is like no other. It contains a collection of his lyrics and their meanings that together tell the story of his life, but also of a culture that many of us have never seen or experienced. The book gives a in-depth look into the life of one of the most provocative and successful artists of our time.

This is one book I would really recommend reading. It has inspired me as a musician but also as someone who just wants to be successful in life.

Here are a few photos from inside the book. It’s defiantly not your conventional autobiography as you can see!

Check out this video from Jay-Z talking about the evolution of his style. Its very interesting