Fiercely candid, uncompromising, provocative, inspiring -- Decoded is the long awaited first book by the multi-platinum, 10 time Grammy Award winning artist, entrepreneur, and icon JAY-Z.
At the New York Public Library, JAY-Z will share his thoughts on growing up as a hustler and feeling judged simply because of where he was from. He will also address issues that informed him and his songwriting:
How did visual art and poetry influence his craft? How did he get involved in politics when he never really trusted the system? How did he stay honest to himself in the world of big business and how did he shed stereotypes when he'd been labeled one all his life?
Bio
Shawn (Jay-Z) Corey Carter
Shawn Corey Carter, better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper and businessman. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America. He has sold approximately 50 million albums worldwide, while receiving ten Grammy Awards for his musical work, and numerous additional nominations.
Jay-Z co-owns The 40/40 Club, is part-owner of the NBA's New Jersey Nets and is also the creator of the clothing line Rocawear. He is the former CEO of Def Jam Recordings, one of the three founders of Roc-A-Fella Records, and the founder of Roc Nation. As an artist, he holds the record for most number one albums by a solo artist on the Billboard 200. Jay-Z also has had four number ones on the Billboard Hot 100, one as lead artist.
Paul Holdengräber
Paul Holdengräber is the Director of LIVE from the NYPL.
Cornel West
Cornel West is a philosopher, author, critic, and civil rights activist. His works include The Ethical Dimensions of Marxist Thought, Race Matters, and The African-American Century: How Black Americans Have Shaped Our Century.
Musical style in which rhythmic and/or rhyming speech is chanted (“rapped”) to musical accompaniment. This backing music, which can include digital sampling (music and sounds extracted from other recordings), is also called hip-hop, the name used to refer to a broader cultural movement that includes rap, deejaying (turntable manipulation), graffiti painting, and breakdancing. Rap, which originated in African American communities in New York City, came to national prominence with the Sugar Hill Gang's “Rapper's Delight” (1979). Rap's early stars included Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Run-D.M.C., LL Cool J, Public Enemy (who espoused a radical political message), and the Beastie Boys. The late 1980s saw the advent of “gangsta rap,” with lyrics that were often misogynistic or that glamorized violence and drug dealing. More recent stars have included Sean “Puffy” Combs, Jay-Z, OutKast, and Eminem.
I am lifelong fan of Jay-Z, but he needs to be viewed in the proper perspective. What kind of a world do we live in where a scholar such as Dr. West holds Jay in higher esteem than our president? He has such disdain for Pres. Obama yet treats Jay like a hero and a revolutionary figure. Did they have Obama on this program when his books were released?
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