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 The line outside of The New York Public Library for “Jay-Z In Conversation With Dr. Cornel West and Paul Holdengraber” began to gather two hours before the event began. Inside, Jay-Z sat on stage between West and Holdengraber (director of public programs at the New York Public Library) to discuss the rapper’s brand new book, “Decoded.” The book, which comes out in stores today, is part memoir, part coffee-table art book, and part lyrical analysis of songs and verses from the rapper’s catalog. While the moderator stuck to questions about passages in the book, West peppered Jay-Z with questions beyond it.
For the die-hard Jay-Z fans, many things discussed during the conversation were familiar. For those who didn’t know much about the rapper and his music, the conversation served as a primer for the book, which was given out to all who purchased a ticket for the event.

Photo by: Jori Klien.

Here are five things we learned about Jay-Z from the event that you won’t find in his new book:


1) Last night wasn’t the first time Cornel West and Jay-Z had met: Early in the discussion, Jay-Z mentions he wrote “Decoded” in part because of a dinner he had with Dr. West and Harlem Children’s Zone founder, Geoffrey Canada. “We had this beautiful conversation about language…rap being more responsible for the things we say,” Jay-Z recalled. “I tried to explain it [in the book] as to why we say these things.”

2) If the Notorious B.I.G. is Socrates, Jay-Z is Plato: In “Decoded” Jay-Z talks about his relationship with the slain rapper Biggie Smalls, aka the Notorious B.I.G. One of the songs played at last night’s conversation was a duet between Jay-Z and Biggie entitled, “Brooklyn’s Finest” from Jay-Z’s 1996 debut album, “Reasonable Doubt.” West brought up the time he invited Jay-Z to Princeton University (where West is a professor) to discuss his music. West recalled, “I was talking about Plato and how Plato had decided to make the world safe for Socrates, so that people would remember the name Socrates forever. And you said, ‘Well I have been playing Plato to Biggie’s ‘Socrates.’ That hit all of us so hard.’”

3) Jay-Z owns a picture of Harry Belafonte: Among the famous faces in attendance last night was singer/actor/activist, Harry Belafonte. West acknowledged him from the stage, and Jay-Z followed up by talking about a picture he has of Belafonte standing beside Coretta Scott King. “[The picture] made me realize that musicians, movie stars, we have a greater responsibility to the world,” Jay-Z said.

4) There are outtakes of Jay-Z’s mother’s “December 4th” recording and we will never hear them: On Jay-Z’s “The Black Album” the first song, “December 4th” features an opening monologue from Jay-Z’s mother, Gloria Carter. Jay-Z discussed the recording session last night. “She told some stories we had to cut out,” Jay-Z said. Holdengraber then asked, “Do you remember one?” Jay-Z’s response: “Yeah…I took them off the record for a reason.”

5) Jay-Z Might Have Included “Run This Town” In “Decoded”: The first single from Jay-Z’s most recent album, “The Blueprint 3″ is not one of the tracks taken apart in “Decoded,” but maybe he will include it in another volume, should one ever come. Last night, Jay-Z mentioned “Run This Town” — featuring Rihanna and Kanye West — as a song he saw differently on paper. “It’s a hit record, I didn’t think it had any deep meaning,” the rapper said. After reciting the song’s opening lines — “Feel it comin’ in the air/and the screams from everywhere/I’m addicted to the thrill/it’s a dangerous love affair — Jay-Z said, “When you look at those words, it takes on a more profound meaning than what it really was.”

Written By: Jozen Cummings