Instead of sitting at home taking care of Beyonce and his soon to be son or daughter, Jay-Z has decided to grab the pen and paper to add a few things to his “Decoded” book. The book was originally released last November and he is set to re-release the book on November 1st with a new cover (which is above), a new chapter, seven additional illustrations, and three songs: “I Know”, “Young Gz”, “Lost One” and a new afterword.

What still excites me about rap is that it’s an open thread, a cipher that listeners find their own meanings in. The point of this book is not to settle arguments or transform rap songs into neat stories with a beginning, middle, and end. Rather, I’m trying to point readers to some ideas and information, get them to see deeper into the music than they saw before and learn more about worlds different from their own (or find new ways of looking at the worlds they already know)—to find their own meanings and connect them back to their own lives. I want readers to see the craft and learn the context—and I want them to still be able to feel the magic, and enjoy the show.