The title says it all. Complex just put up an exclusive excert from Hov’s upcoming book, Decoded.
People love to talk about lyrics: punchlines, puns, double meanings, you name it. And no one is as fond of his own cleverness as one Shawn Carter. To that end, Jiggaman has reportedly inked a deal to write a book called Decoded, wherein he delves into his own inexhaustible arsenal of wit and wordplay to explain what he meant by many of his favorite lines. “I’m gonna pick the select ones,” he told a radio DJ, “all the double entendres and things that people may have missed or may have gotten and want confirmation on it.” Forgive us if we were a little skeptical at first, but it just didn’t sound like anything we’d want to shell out $24.95 for ($9.95 for the Kindle edition—holla at us, Steve Bezos!).
But as with so many times before, it turned out that we were wrong. We got a look at a preview of Decoded, and the shit is absolute fire! If you thought you knew what was going through Jay’s mind when he penned his joints (without the pen), you had no idea. Even his not-so-incredible tracks are testament to his penchant for cryptic allusion and restless philosophical examination. Don’t believe us? Peep the excerpt below* to see the thought process behind his 2003 hit “Change Clothes.” And you thought it was just about girls and brand names…
