Claiming in an NPR Radio interview that he does not write down any of his raps anymore, Jay-Z made a change of pace for his first ever book, Decoded, which was released in November. The work of non-fiction, described in the book’s sleeve as “a collection of lyrics and their meanings that together tell the story of a culture, an art form, a moment in history, and one of the most provocative and successful artists of our time,” now has its own app for iPods, iPhones and iPads.
With the release of Decoded, the industry’s most successful and dominant rapper continues to expand his horizons and reach various audiences.The memoir-like anthology of the relationship between hustling and rap has sold over a million copies, according to USA Today. Yet, for all those who excitedly purchased the had copy of HOV’s newest artistic medium, such dedicated fans will be missing out if they don’t upgrade to the digital version.
Luckily for hard-copy purchasers, the app appears to be more of a supplement to the actual text. With the subsequent release of the book’s new Apple application the 41-year-old artist only further pushes the limits of his reach by featuring interactive lyric displays, excerpts from the book and even previously unseen interviews in which Jay is particularly personal and honest.
There are two versions of the application the basic, which is $9.99 that allows users to choose ten songs to decode and the upgraded version, which is $24.99 in which you are able to view the full text of the book along with all the featured extras.