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
“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.
