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The Greatest Day: The Epic Story Behind Hip-Hop's Most Iconic Photograph

By: Sheena Lester, Ben Osborne, Jonathan Rheingold
Narrated by: Sheena Lester
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  • Summary

  • Based on the Respect magazine essay "The Game Changer" by Sheena Lester Narrated by Sheena Lester.

    In 1998, XXL Editor-in-Chief Sheena Lester and the magazine's staff set out to create a hip-hop remake of Art Kane’s legendary 1958 Esquire magazine photoshoot known as “A Great Day In Harlem."

    Kane's image featured 57 of the greatest jazz musicians of the time gathered around the stoop at 17 West 126th Street in Harlem. That image remains one of the greatest moments in jazz music history, and the talented team at XXL was looking to pull off the same for hip-hop at the very same place consecrated by jazz 40 years prior.

    This five-part series features firsthand accounts from many of those involved in this wildly ambitious/borderline impossible idea, including former XXL staff members and a range of artists, journalists, photographers, and cultural luminaries. With the venerable Gordon Parks recruited behind the lens and 177 rappers in front of it, what they ultimately achieved—the photograph known as “A Great Day In Hip-Hop”—is among the most monumental artifacts in hip-hop history. This year marks the 25th anniversary of that once-in-a-lifetime occasion, and for those who assembled, it remains "The Greatest Day."

    The immersive series is produced by Mercury Studios and Fresh Produce Media.

    Executive Producers: Barak Moffitt, Daniel Seliger, Jonathan Rheingold, Colin Moore and Jason Ross
    ©2023 UMG Recordings, Inc. and Audible Originals LLC (P)2023 UMG Recordings, Inc. and Audible Originals LLC
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Episodes
  • Trailer

    Trailer
    Jun 15 2023

    Based on the Respect magazine essay "The Game Changer" by Sheena Lester Narrated by Sheena Lester.

    In 1998, XXL Editor-in-Chief Sheena Lester and the magazine's staff set out to create a hip-hop remake of Art Kane’s legendary 1958 Esquire magazine photoshoot known as “A Great Day in Harlem".

    Kane's image featured 57 of the greatest jazz musicians of the time gathered around the stoop at 17 West 126th Street in Harlem. That image remains one of the greatest moments in jazz music history, and the talented team at XXL was looking to pull off the same for hip-hop at the very same place consecrated by jazz 40 years prior.

    This five-part series features firsthand accounts from many of those involved in this wildly ambitious/borderline impossible idea, including former XXL staff members and a range of artists, journalists, photographers, and cultural luminaries. With the venerable Gordon Parks recruited behind the lens and 177 rappers in front of it, what they ultimately achieved—the photograph known as “A Great Day In Hip-Hop”—is among the most monumental artifacts in hip-hop history. This year marks the 25th anniversary of that once-in-a-lifetime occasion, and for those who assembled, it remains "The Greatest Day".

    The immersive series is produced by Mercury Studios and Fresh Produce Media.

    Executive Producers: Barak Moffitt, Daniel Seliger, Jonathan Rheingold, Colin Moore, and Jason Ross
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    1 min
  • Episode 1: Who’d Veto That?

    Episode 1: Who’d Veto That?
    Jun 15 2023
    “Who'd Veto That?" -- Those three words in a shocked editor-in-chief's mind lit the fuse to the most memorable photo shoot in hip-hop history. What began as an inspired idea born in tribute to the legendary Art Kane Jazz Portrait of 1958, became a determined quest for a passionate magazine staff, who through spirit, skill and certitude would bring XXL's "Great Day in Hip-Hop" to life. In this episode, we meet Sheena Lester, XXL’s editor-in-chief as she guides us through the ideas' early stages: from inspiration to second thoughts and finally a bold decision. As the mission to make the historic photo happen unfolds, we hear from many involved, including members of the XXL staff, and some of the rap artists in the photo, like Black Thought, MC Serch, Rah Digga and others.
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    24 mins
  • Episode 2: The Game Changer

    Episode 2: The Game Changer
    Jun 15 2023
    We begin the episode with a revelation that flips the entire script– Gordon Parks is suggested as photographer! The groundbreaking photojournalist, and symbol of African-American creative genius, is perfect, but will he do it? Convincing a masterful legend like Mr. Parks to shoot a hip-hop photo turns out to be quite the challenge, but Sheena and the team won’t take no for an answer. This wasn’t the only hurdle facing the team, it turns a competitor is interfering with the shoot, attempting to sabotage.
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    19 mins
About the Creator and Performer - Sheena Lester

About the Creator and Performer

Sheena Lester: Previously an assistant news editor and multiplatform editor at Philadelphia Media Network, Sheena Lester is also the former arts & culture editor of Philadelphia Weekly and former managing editor of BlackAmericaWeb.com. A pioneer in urban music magazines, Lester has served as editor in chief of RapPages and XXL as well as music editor of Vibe, executive editor of 360HipHop.com, and VP of music content at BET Interactive.
She began her foray into journalism at the Los Angeles Sentinel before being hired by Larry Flynt Publications to oversee its flagship rap publication, turning RapPages into an international sensation with its provocative mix of music, advocacy, and culture reporting. She brought that same mix of energy and intellect to New York-based media circles, first at Vibe, then in the top chair at XXL. For the latter, Lester co-produced 1998’s "A Great Day in Hip-Hop," a recreation of Art Kane’s famous "Jazz Portrait" with over 200 rap music greats—convincing legendary photographer Gordon Parks to capture the image for posterity on the same Harlem stoop where the stalwarts of jazz were immortalized 40 years prior.
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