It looks like the over-hyped, over-the-top sales marketing plan worked for rapper Jay Z and former VIBE editor Dream Hampton, who goes uncredited as the actual author of Decoded.

Decoded, Jay Z’s autobiography slash memoir of his days hustling drugs in the Marcy Projects to his current gig hustling for cred in corporate boardrooms, debuted at #3 on the New York Times Best Seller list for hardcover non-fiction books.

This is not a big deal when you consider that the aging rapper is trailing behind 2 books that have been on the bestseller list for weeks: Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbroken (#2) and George Bush’s memoirs Decision Points (#1).

Jay Z’s rhyme tome didn’t even crack the Top 10 on USA Today’s bestseller list, which is actually based on overall sales and not who you know at the NY Times. Decoded landed at #18.

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