AOW #14: IRB

Decoded
By Jay-Z

Author: Jay-Z is an American rapper, producer, and entrepreneur.   He is considered a revolutionary in black and rap history, becoming a millionaire with his extremely successful albums.  Jay-Z is not only extrmemly successful, but has become a very popular public figure, dating Beyonce and owning the New York Mets while continueing to produce chart-topping hits.
Summary:  In this first section I read, Jay-Z gives an insight to his childhood and how he got involved in rapping.  Going up in the projects in New York, Jay-Z had experiences most children would not have, which modivated him to tell his story in rymes.  This section goes on to Jay-Z's start in the rap business, and his increased popularity in his younger years.  The book also goes into some of his early raps, and breaks each song down to explain his verses. 
Context: The context is Jay-Z and his music.  While he goes off about other rapper's music, it connects to his own becuase it is where he drew inspiration.  The exigence for this book was Jay-Z's popularity, music, and people's curiosity aurrounding it.  This led Jay-Z to write a book about his life and where his lyrics came from, hense the name Decoded.
Purpose:  The purpose of this section was to give an idea of where he was from and to inform the reader of how he got this start.  Readers can see some of his stories and veiws in his lyrics, which allows the reader to connect the music with Jay's acutal life.  He accomplishes this purpose.
Audience: Readers who enjoy rap music or Jay-Z.
Rhetorical Elements:  Jay-Z begins his story very biographical, descibing the story of his life.  In a way he uses many allusions and metaphores in his writing and songs to portray his personal experiences.  While this section is very logical, it also gets very emotional, as Jay descibes his own personal struggle and then explains how everyone has a struggle, not just those who are poor or living in the conditions that he did.  This appeals to a readers memory and gives one a better understand of how he feels and what his music is about.