As part of a scavenger hunt used to market his autobiography, the hip hop mogul hooked up with the creative agency Droga5 and Bing and hid all 320 pages of "Decoded" in plain sight in 13 cities: on a rooftop in New Orleans, a pool bottom in Miami, cheeseburger wrappers in New York City, and more. Fans who found them unlocked corresponding pages of the book to read and got a chance at two tickets to any Jay-Z concert anywhere, for life. Here's a look at 32 of the pages.
The Venues
As part of a scavenger hunt used to market his autobiography, the hip hop mogul hooked up with the creative agency Droga5 and Bing and hid all 320 pages of Decoded in plain sight in 13 cities: on a rooftop in New Orleans, a pool bottom in Miami, cheeseburger wrappers in New York City, and more. Fans who found them all got a chance at two tickets to any Jay-Z concert anywhere, for life. Here's a look at 32 of the pages.
Read the whole back story here.
Billboards
With a range of media across NY and the world, bus shelters, phone boxes, metro-lights and city walls became a canvas for Jay-Zʼs words.
Miami Pool
At the Delano hotel launch event in South Beach, a page dedicated to the lavish lifestyle of the hip-hop artist was revealed at the bottom of the iconic pool and on towels surrounding the lounge area.
Miami Pool
Times Square Billboard
A three-billboard stack revealing the bookʼs introductory pages were released throughout the campaignʼs four-week period.
London Tube Station
Pages that highlighted Jay-Zʼs experiences abroad were put in the cities where the events happened. For instance, this page was found in the London Underground.
New Orleans Roof
A page dedicated to the Hurricane Katrina disaster placed on a roof in downtown New Orleans.
New Orleans Roof
Jukebox
Jukeboxes all over New York City were used to display pages about Jayʼs musical influences.
Gucci Jacket
Jay-Z stunned his fans by revealing a black leather Gucci for Decoded jacket. The masterfully stitched page handcrafted by Gucci's lead creative, Frida Giannini, is custom-tailored to Jay-Z's measurements and holds song lyrics mentioning the Italian clothing icon.
Gucci Jacket
Black Shack Burger
Black Shack, a burger joint on Lexington Ave in Manhattan, was the location of a page mentioning a personal experience Jay had with Memphis Bleek and bacon cheeseburgers. To bring the story to life, the page was printed on the foil wrappers covering the special order bacon cheeseburgers and given to fans upon request.
GLEASONʼS GYM
The pages found in a famous boxing gym in Brooklyn called Gleasonʼs highlighted Jayʼs love for the sport.
Guitar
This guitar, found in a local music store in NYC, hosts song lyrics referencing music influences outside the bounds of traditional hip-hop.
Las Vegas
The broken hearts of Las Vegas found this page stretching above the strip.
Plexi
A clear, freestanding page made of Plexiglas, overlooking the downtown NYC skyline was located on the Brooklyn piers in Red Hook. One of the more meaningful pages, it holds content about the potential of hip-hop and where itʼs headed in the future.
The Spotted Pig
These pages were dropped in one of Jay-Z's very own business ventures. The Spotted Pig, known for its cozy atmosphere and cool memorabilia, was used in a variety of different mediums to celebrate the book's content. Pages were found on tablecloths and mirrors highlighting Jay-Z's personal experiences dining with the world's most influential people.
The Spotted Pig
Pool Table
This custom pool table was designed specifically for the campaign and was placed in the 40/40 Club in New York City. The page is all about the hustle of the hip-hop world and how it translates into other parts of life, in this case, a game of pool.
Cadillac
Jay-Z shook the borough of Queens with his pages dedicated to Run DMC, the hip-hop legend of Hollis. A 1982 vintage Cadillac Seville, decked out in pages 8 & 9, was showcased as a tribute to the hip-hop OGs on their very own Run DMC Way. The book content included various Run DMC and Cadillac references and covered the car from trunk to hood in recognition of the influence that the hip-hop foreman had on Jay-Z's music.
Basketball Backboard
This page was created as a basketball backboard in his old neighborhood near the Marcy Projects. The pages hold the song lyrics to "Where I'm From," a dedication to the unforgiving lifestyle of the thug in the streets of Bed-Stuy Brooklyn.
Fireplace and Escalator
The lyrics to “Lucifer” were revealed at two interesting locations. The first page-spread was situated in front of a fireplace at the
Royalton Hotel. Flames from behind the clear, freestanding page brought the content to life while symbolizing the internal struggle between good and evil. The second “Lucifer” spread was found at the famous escalator in the Hudson Hotel lobby, where visitors traveling up and down experienced the song's metaphor firsthand.
Fireplace and Escalator
Plaque
A bronze plaque, molded with the content of the first two pages of the book, was placed adjacent to the housing projects Jay-Z grew up in. The content poetically details the scene of his childhood: the rap battles, the playgrounds, the crowded streets.
Nets Jersey and Banner
A custom Nets jersey, complete with the content of page 86, was hung with the famous sports memorabilia lining the walls of the 40/40 Club.
In the same week, a banner embroidered with the content of pages 142-143 was placed in the rafters of the Netsʼ very own Prudential Center. The pages alluded to Jay-Z's love of basketball, investment in the Nets, and the commonalities between sports and the hustle of the hiphop game.
Nets Jersey and Banner
Newspaper
Two pages dedicated to the mourning of rappers Notorious BIG and Tupac were found at newspaper stands in their respective east and west coast cities, New York and Los Angeles.
Counterfeit Book
A page mentioning Jay-Z's frustrations with music bootleggers was found in the form of a counterfeit book distributed by a street vendor near Canal Street in Manhattan.
Bike
A page mentioning Jay-Z's early childhood bike riding experiences was showcased on a custom bike in a shop located near his old neighborhood in Brooklyn.
Apollo Theater
A page was revealed on the stage curtain of the Apollo Theater on Amateur Night. The content was a tribute to the iconic theater and the historic Harlem neighborhood it represents.
Records
Each chapter title page was printed as a record cover and placed in record stores around NYC.
Records
