With the photo shoot a success, the team at XXL turns their focus to assembling the issue. Articles are written, ads are sold, layouts confirmed. Finally, the issue is out. The stakes are high for the team. What will the response be?
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.