Jay-Z released his own book 'Decoded' a few months ago but a long time Forbes Mag writer released an unauthorized biography last month. This book gives a few more details about his life that Hova doesn't tell the world.
According to TheBoomBox >>
'Empire State of Mind,' an unauthorized biography of the rapper penned by longtime Forbes writer Zach O'Malley Greenburg, is positioned to fill in many of the blanks surrounding the rapper's business dealings, pulling from interviews with some of Hov's colleagues and business partners willing to dish the dirt on how he rose to fame and fortune.
Greenburg, who was approached by publishing company Penguin Books, set out to tell a story that straddles the fence in its portrayal of Jay, thus leaving it up to the reader to make the final judgment. Working on the book from 2009 through the better half of 2010, the seasoned journalist spoke with the likes of Roots drummer Questlove, former friend Jaz-O, Atlantic Records CEO Craig Kallman and Jay's most outspoken former business partner Dame Dash to fill the pages of his book.
"I think he's just tired of talking about [his relationship with Jay-Z] honestly," Greenburg told the BoomBox of Dash. "The air he had about him was just kind of like, 'I'm sad this didn't work out.' Of course he's angry but I think he's weary, because all anybody ever asks him about is Jay-Z. Jaz-O for example got a little more into it, and he really directly said, 'I've known Jay-Z since he was 14. This is what happened here and here, and Jay-Z has become maniacal and obsessed with money.'"
Although Jay is aware of the book's release, according to Greenburg, he refused to take part in the project without a promise of personal financial gain. "My first action when I wrote the book was to go to [Jay-Z's manager] John Meneilly," he states. "I wanted to get them on board and I went in and I thought it would be a slam dunk. Here I am writing this business book, this biography, a Forbes writer writing about Jay-Z, he's got so much invested in his image as a businessman [that] I thought it would be a great opportunity that he would want to be involved in. I pitched the book, the response that I got was, 'What's in it for us?' The more you look at it, that's how Jay-Z operates, he doesn't do anything unless he's getting something out of it."
Regardless of the salacious implications behind the use of the word "unauthorized," Greenburg hopes that the book will enlighten readers to previously undiscussed topics around Jay-Z's life and career. As a writer for Forbes, Greenburg is the man behind their yearly Hip-Hop Cash Kings list, of which Jay-Z has appeared on since its inception in 2007, and continues to work as an editor and journalist in the hip-hop community.
Portfolio/Penguin "I set out to write it in as balanced a way possible," he explained. "First and foremost, this is a great American rags to riches story that Jay-Z has come from having absolutely nothing to absolutely everything. I don't think that you can knock him too much regardless of what you're thinking just based on the sheer volume of what he's accomplished. That said, he's really cut out a lot of people along the way and whether or not he was justified in doing so, I try to leave that up to the reader."
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