Listen Now: Class of ‘88 - Featuring Will Smith

Even the Rich

Wondery

Society & Culture

4.3 • 11.5K Ratings

🗓️ 4 March 2024

⏱️ 10 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In the US, hip hop reigns as the genre that influences every aspect of our culture. From fashion to film, the dominance of this prolific sound can be traced back to one year - 1988.

From Public Enemy to The Fresh Prince, these twelve months gave rise to the superstars and styles that still resonate in songs released today. Through the unique perspective and personal experiences of Will Smith, Class of ’88 reveals the milestone moments, albums and artists that inspired a sonic evolution and secured 1988 as hip hop’s most important year. Rich with archival material, new interviews with hip hop’s biggest stars, and personal recollections from Will himself, Class of ’88 delivers fresh untold stories from the year that hip hop overcame the forces that were hell bent on blocking its rise.

This series features interviews and stories from the revolutionary Artists that impacted that year and many more afterwards, including: Queen Latifah, Jazzy Jeff, DMC, Salt-N-Pepa, Chuck D, Fab Five Freddy, Rakim, Slick Rick, DJ Red Alert, and Rick Rubin.

Listen to Class of '88 wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge the entire series early and ad-free with Wondery+.

Listen to Class of ‘88: Wondery.fm/Class88

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Today, hip-hop dominates pop culture, influencing every genre of music from country to
0:05.3	K-pop, but it wasn't always like that, and the story of how that changed can be traced back to a
0:09.6	single year, 1988.
0:12.0	From Wundery and Audible, comes Class of 88. A new podcast hosted by
0:16.0	Will Smith about the one game-changing year that sparked the world's obsession with
0:20.1	rap and hip-hop. Before 1988, a lot of people didn't take hip-hop seriously.
0:24.7	People said hip-hop was a fad, and the big record labels at the time wanted nothing to do with a
0:29.1	new genre of music that they couldn't control.
0:31.3	But hip-hop today touches everything, from film to fashion to sports.
0:36.3	So what changed?
0:37.3	Will Smith will walk you through the historical moments and milestones from that year, interview
0:41.4	the superstars who were in the room room and reveal never before heard stories about
0:45.0	legends like Public Enemy, Sultan Peppa, Queen Latifah, and Chuck D.
0:49.0	We're about to play a clip from Class of 88.
0:51.0	Follow Class of 88 on the Wundery app or wherever you get your
0:53.9	podcasts.
0:56.5	Wonder.
0:59.5	Later, Lady, is a show.
1:05.0	To begin, to be group begin.
1:08.0	Back when I was a teenager, before hip hop ruled the world,
1:12.0	there was a DJ competition called the Battle for World Supremacy.
1:17.0	Every year the best DJ's would cram into a hotel ballroom in Times Square to fight for the title of world champion.
	...

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