Rap superstar Jay-Z is set to launch his new book ‘Decoded’ this month (November 16) and is stoking the fire of anticipation with some newly revealed excerpts.

The New York Post has published parts of the memoirs, including very candid accounts about the star’s troubled past.

One passage has Jay explaining that the inspiration for a lyric from 2004 hit ’99 Problems’ – “I got 99 problems but the bitch ain’t one” – is actually about the rapper’s brush with a K-9 unit during the days when he was a crack dealer.

The book also tells of a dangerous hip hop scene that took the life of close friend, Notorious B.I.G. who was gunned down in March 1997, as well as a row with the Cristal Champagne company who prejudicially refused endorsements from hip hop artists.

Jay-Z writes: "I released a statement saying that I would never drink Cristal or promote it in any way or serve it at any of my clubs ever again. I felt like this was the kind of bullshit I'd been dealing with forever, this kind of patronizing disrespect for the culture of hip-hop."

Watch Jay-Z talking about his song 'Most Kingz' for the book, below: