It is easy to take shots at performers when they seem to self destruct. He should have been on a boat somewhere enjoying himself without a care in the world, not worrying about getting shot up on his way to work. Here was Eminem, someone who was doing the thing he loved and succeeding at it probably beyond his wildest dreams, and he had to wear a bulletproof vest. When we met at the studio, I reached over to give him a pound, and when we bumped, I could feel that he had on a bulletproof vest. He was probably the biggest star in the world. It was 2003 and he was on top of the music world - three major multiplatinum albums, twenty million sold, a number one film with 8 Mile, and on and on. I was reminded of this when I recorded “Moment of Clarity” with Eminem for The Black Album. It was not till he was a rapper that he started getting shot at, locked up, stalked by the cops - and eventually murdered. And Pac was not even heavy in the street. Biggie was on the streets before he started releasing music, but he never had squads of shooters (or the Feds) coming after him until he was famous. “The not-so-funny s**t is that Pac and Biggie were perfectly safe before they started rapping they were not being hunted by killers until they got into music. Jay also dedicates one paragraph to Eminem, where he writes: The book includes notorious lyrics, their explanations, anecdotes, jokes, reflections, and some autobiographical information. The book was published by Random House and was released November 16th, 2010 on Hardcover’s platform and November 1st, 2011 on Paperback. “Decoded” is the autobiography and memoir of legendary hip-hop artist, Jay-Z.