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OK, here’s the situation: Will Smith is set to host a new Audible podcast a landmark year in hip-hop.
The erstwhile Fresh Prince will be the main voice for Class of ’88, an eight-episode series that will feature Public Enemy’s Chuck D, Queen Latifah, Run-D.M.C.’s Darryl McDaniels, Salt-N-Pepa, Rakim and Smith’s rap partner DJ Jazzy Jeff.
Timed to coincide with last month’s 50th anniversary of hip-hop, the eight-episode series produced by Wondery, Audible, Westbrook and Awfully Nice will launch October 26 on Audible and Amazon Music.
“Hip-hop has been a central part of my life for over four decades,” Smith told Deadline’s sister publication Billboard. “I’m hyped to share my firsthand experiences and those of some of hip-hop’s greatest legends as we delve into the origins of one of the most influential genres of music in history.”
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The hip-hop Class of 1988 included not only the debut of DJ Jazzy and the Fresh Prince — whose first single “Parents Just Don’t Understand” knocked on the pop Top 10 and won the genre’s inaugural Grammy — but also the emergence of N.W.A, EPMD, MC Lyte, Big Daddy Kane and others. Among the acts who made key records that year are Public Enemy (It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back), Eric B. & Rakim (Follow the Leader), Run-D.M.C. (Tougher Than Leather) and many more.
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