The Magazine front cover denotes an image of a muscular male covered in tattoos, wearing a backpack and holding a gun underneath his left arm in a medium shot. The background is black with a spotlight on the male. There is also a puff in the top right corner and a visible barcode on the bottom right. The masthead is on the top left under lapping the male figure. There is also a main cover line which takes up the bottom overlapping the muscular male.
The music magazine masthead is called ‘XXL’ in bold capital sans-serif letters in the colour white. It’s placed in a bright red background. The colour red holds connotations of danger, power and intense passion. The red background contrasting with the white makes it looks dangerous as though you’re alerted for exquisite information inside the magazine. By doing so, it attracts and encourages the reader to buy the magazine. ‘XXL’ reminds me of the size ‘extra extra large’ which suggests that the magazine contains more than music yet it makes the audience more intrigue by the magazine.
The cover line at the bottom which says ‘VENGEANCE IS EMINEM’ quotes that the rapper is back on track into the music world as before that he took a long break from the music industry. The sentence ‘Vengeance is Eminem’ shows his status in the music industry and that only Eminem can bring ‘Vengeance’ this inflicts the other stars in the magazine because he is the main icon put on the front cover therefore the readers are focalized on him. It is also the same colour as the masthead which is red and white which could also mean the rapper is ‘extra extra large’.
On top of the masthead it says ‘Hip-hop on a higher level’ this gives a brief of the magazine that it is about hip-hop and that hip-hop is changing. As the audience is into hip-hop they will want to purchase the magazine to read further on. Also beneath the masthead it says ‘SPECIAL COLLECTION EDITION’ therefore it doesn’t happen regularly, and by putting a well-known rapper on the front cover who hasn’t been in the music scene for awhile makes the magazine more worth it.
The main image is of a well known rapper known as Eminem. He is topless, the only costume that can be seen are his white boxers. Furthermore he is inked with tattoo all over wearing a backpack and holding a gun. By being topless and muscular it shows his masculinity as a rapper. By photographing the rapper topless and defining all this muscles and tattoos it inspires other rappers to want to be him. The tattoo of the skull in the middle of his body visibly shown could show that he is ‘deadly’ and warn the other rappers to be aware of him. Rappers are stereotyped as masculine and strong-headed and for that reason Eminem’s prop and costume was considered carefully to capture the look of a ‘rapper’.
The prop is a gun is being gripped and hidden between his arms by the rapper. This reinforces the stereotypes of violence commonly related to rap music. Another prop used is also a backpack which we can only see from the front, shows that he has come back after a while ready to make music.
Crime is also connected to rap as most rappers tend to write and improvise rap about their life in crime as a teen or about a dangerous lifestyle. This therefore can relate to younger generations and young adults who may be going through the same problems. As you can see from the rappers body tattoo, it seems to tell a story of his life which consists of a 80’s car which can represent ‘escapism’ and the names ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ who were famously known as outlaws, robbers and criminals who travelled around America during the Great Depression. This tells us that he had a difficult upbringing and brings that into life through his music.
The puff of the magazine is in a golden yellow colour which says ‘XXCLUSIVE THE PUNISHER COMIC INSIDE’. The colour golden yellow connotes with royalty and by using this colour the magazine makes the prize seem extraordinary. By spelling exclusive ‘XXCLUSIVE’ makes the prize more personal to the magazine as it’s spelt with ‘XX’.
The lighting on the background is low key and a spotlight is shown on the rapper. This emphasizes his presence and gives off superior glow showing him as ‘god-like’ as Eminem is known as the greatest white rapper. The dark background makes the magazine seem more intense and powerful.
The most likely target audience would be females and males, however more males, aged 18-35. The audience tend to have an interest in rap music in general although mostly young adults that can relate to the rappers who have had a difficult upbringing or are still struggling in life. I like the way the magazine captures the image of a hip-hop magazine because then I know instantly that it’s the genre of the magazine I want.
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