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Read an Exclusive Annotated Lyric From the New Expanded Edition of Jay-Z’s Decoded

Decoded, Jay-Z’s 2010 memoir-slash-lyric-guide, earned rave reviews from even the toughest critics for its densely packed musical annotations layered with personal reflections. Last year, Jay told Vulture that a more straightforward autobiography (“the mysterious Black Book”) still might be germinating, but in the meantime, we can offer you a first look at the new paperback edition of Decoded (coming out November 1), which includes Hova’s insights on several songs not previously included in the hardcover edition. Below, a sampling of his breakdown of “Lost One,” off 2006’s Kingdom Come; click on the footnotes to read his commentary.

Excerpted from Decoded by Jay-Z. Copyright (c) 2011 by Jay-Z. Excerpted by permission of Spiegel & Grau, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

Read an Exclusive Annotated Lyric From the New Expanded Edition of Jay-Z’s Decoded