Textual analysis
In this section I will be looking at four magazine front covers and four double page spreads of rap magazines, a genre similar to grime, in order to figure out the formula for making a rap magazine. I will be focusing on aspects such as colour schemes, mise-en-scene, typography, connotations/denotations and target audience.
Vibe - Aug/Sept 2010
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/8/1/13816468/6857418.jpg)
On the front cover of this vibe magazine you can see three people, two women and one woman at the back they are all dressed smartly and in black, the mast head say “vibe” in big, bold and white writing but parts of it blocked by the three people, the selling line is red capital letters, on the left there are cover lines, a bar code and a date line and on the right there is the main cover line and a few more cover lines
From looking at the main image on the front cover of the magazine I can tell that the people are wealthy because of the props that are in their possession e.g. the pinkie rings, watches, and ear rings, however the sunglasses tell me that they are important people, the lighting in the picture also tells me a lot about the people because there is high key lighting towards theirs faces and low key lighting everywhere else which tells me that they are important, the costumes that the people are wearing also tells me that they are wealthy because both men are wearing expensive suits which look really suave, the non-verbal communication ofthe people in the picture also tells me a lot the who is furthest forward is folding his arms which can be seen as anon-verbal way of saying “don’t interact with me” and his head is tilted and along with the blacked out glasses tells us he is bored or uninterested, the second male in the shot seems to be less important than the other male because he is behind him, he looks quite serious and with the sunglasses he looks quite anti-social and the woman In the shot seems to be the least important person there as she is at the very back, her body language tells me that she isn’t that interested as she is not facing the camera, the plain back ground of the picture doesn’t really tell me much about the shot
The typography of the magazine front cover is good because the white and red colour scheme really stands out from the dark
background which meant that even the really small words were easily visible, the masthead says “Vibe” in big bold white letters, the selling line is in red and white, the cover lines are either all white or part red and part white and the date line says Aug/sept 2010 is in really small white writing.
I think this magazine front cover would easily appeal to black teenaged males maybe females or young adults as there are three rap/hip hop icons on the cover, the men seem to be the dominant people in the shot and the woman seems to be very submissive, I also think that the non-verbal communication of the people on the cover would be appealing as they look really cool and suave which is what people from this social group are interested in and I think cover lines like “what are Eminem and dre cooking up?” are things that the people of this social group would be interested in
From looking at the main image on the front cover of the magazine I can tell that the people are wealthy because of the props that are in their possession e.g. the pinkie rings, watches, and ear rings, however the sunglasses tell me that they are important people, the lighting in the picture also tells me a lot about the people because there is high key lighting towards theirs faces and low key lighting everywhere else which tells me that they are important, the costumes that the people are wearing also tells me that they are wealthy because both men are wearing expensive suits which look really suave, the non-verbal communication ofthe people in the picture also tells me a lot the who is furthest forward is folding his arms which can be seen as anon-verbal way of saying “don’t interact with me” and his head is tilted and along with the blacked out glasses tells us he is bored or uninterested, the second male in the shot seems to be less important than the other male because he is behind him, he looks quite serious and with the sunglasses he looks quite anti-social and the woman In the shot seems to be the least important person there as she is at the very back, her body language tells me that she isn’t that interested as she is not facing the camera, the plain back ground of the picture doesn’t really tell me much about the shot
The typography of the magazine front cover is good because the white and red colour scheme really stands out from the dark
background which meant that even the really small words were easily visible, the masthead says “Vibe” in big bold white letters, the selling line is in red and white, the cover lines are either all white or part red and part white and the date line says Aug/sept 2010 is in really small white writing.
I think this magazine front cover would easily appeal to black teenaged males maybe females or young adults as there are three rap/hip hop icons on the cover, the men seem to be the dominant people in the shot and the woman seems to be very submissive, I also think that the non-verbal communication of the people on the cover would be appealing as they look really cool and suave which is what people from this social group are interested in and I think cover lines like “what are Eminem and dre cooking up?” are things that the people of this social group would be interested in
Vibe - December 2010
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/8/1/13816468/7179657.jpg)
When I look at this magazine front cover I see a picture of a woman who looks to be the centre of attention and then I see the masthead which is being blocked by the woman’s head and arm, I then see the cover lines on the right side of the cover, then I see the cover lines on the left of the page, then I see a promotion for something where you should scan with a smart phone and next to
that I see a web address and after that I see the selling line and the date line at the top of the page
The props that the woman is in possession of tell me that she is wealthy as she has two silver chains, the lighting in the shot isn’t too bright but its all on her which makes her seem like the centre of attention her costume tells me that she is a wealthy person as what she is wearing looks like it would be expensive , her hat tells me that she maybe an unorthodox person as it doesn’t really match what she is wearing, her non-verbal communication tells me that she is a very confident person as the
pose she is taking makes her look really powerful and dominant and I think that the look on her face adds to her power and dominance because she looks as if she is in full control and I think her stance also adds to this, the back ground is pale blue maybe because it matches what she is wearing
The colour scheme for this magazine front Is white and red which is good because it easily visible against the blue the masthead says “Vibe” in big, bold and white letters which could represent freshness and that might be why they put other text in that colour and they might have put the other writing in red because red is normally seen as exciting and both those colours would attract attention
I think this magazine is aimed at young black people mainly because of the cover lines, almost everyone of them have a rappers name
in them like “Jay-Z” or “Waka Flocka Flame” and rap is normally associated with young black people and seeing as there is a female on the front this issue may be targeted the towards female more than or maybe the main story is about her
that I see a web address and after that I see the selling line and the date line at the top of the page
The props that the woman is in possession of tell me that she is wealthy as she has two silver chains, the lighting in the shot isn’t too bright but its all on her which makes her seem like the centre of attention her costume tells me that she is a wealthy person as what she is wearing looks like it would be expensive , her hat tells me that she maybe an unorthodox person as it doesn’t really match what she is wearing, her non-verbal communication tells me that she is a very confident person as the
pose she is taking makes her look really powerful and dominant and I think that the look on her face adds to her power and dominance because she looks as if she is in full control and I think her stance also adds to this, the back ground is pale blue maybe because it matches what she is wearing
The colour scheme for this magazine front Is white and red which is good because it easily visible against the blue the masthead says “Vibe” in big, bold and white letters which could represent freshness and that might be why they put other text in that colour and they might have put the other writing in red because red is normally seen as exciting and both those colours would attract attention
I think this magazine is aimed at young black people mainly because of the cover lines, almost everyone of them have a rappers name
in them like “Jay-Z” or “Waka Flocka Flame” and rap is normally associated with young black people and seeing as there is a female on the front this issue may be targeted the towards female more than or maybe the main story is about her
Hip-Hop / February 2010
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/8/1/13816468/1399389371.jpg)
When I look at this magazine cover I see a male subject at the centre of the page looking down at the camera, this tells me that he is the most important person, he is standing in front of the mast head that says "KING" in black, bold and capital letters, above that is the selling line which is "HIP-HOP MAGAZINE No1 IN RUSSIA" In grey capital letters, around the subject are other cover lines which also highlights his importance and there is a standard barcode at the bottom of the page
The subject is wearing a white t-shirt and Black Jeans this is a very simple outfit which is often associated with the stereo-typical Rapper. The subject is also wearing two silver chains, Bracelet and a watch, these props look very expensive which connotes that he is a wealthy man. There is a plain white background, this doesn't tell us much but it could connote "perfection" as that is usually associated with the colour white and it also links in with him being a rapper, as most rappers think very highly of themselves. The subject in the main image is Looking down at us with his hands in his pockets, this Non-verbal communication shows how confident the main subject is and it also connotes that he thinks he is better than most other people as the stance is rather over confident. The lighting used in the main image is high-key which suggests that he wants to be seen/acknowledged
The typography used for this media product are suitable for this genre as most rap fonts are simple but bold with a colour that really stands out this allows for the words to be read easily and visually engaging for the audience. The main cover line is "JAY-Z" in the grey and the second biggest font on the page, this is obviously the subjects name and it make us aware that he is the topic of the main article. The other cover lines are in the same font but coloured Black, white or yellow, they are spread around the subject and they all state names of other rappers and this would attract their target audience and make them more likely to purchase the magazine as they are most likely fans of these artists as well as Jay-Z.
The target audience of this magazine would most likely be males aged between 16 and 30 and maybe females aged between 16 and 25 who like the rap genre of music, the age ranges are so big because many of artists stated on the cover have been around for many years which has meant that they have gained fans from many different age groups (from when they started to now)
The subject is wearing a white t-shirt and Black Jeans this is a very simple outfit which is often associated with the stereo-typical Rapper. The subject is also wearing two silver chains, Bracelet and a watch, these props look very expensive which connotes that he is a wealthy man. There is a plain white background, this doesn't tell us much but it could connote "perfection" as that is usually associated with the colour white and it also links in with him being a rapper, as most rappers think very highly of themselves. The subject in the main image is Looking down at us with his hands in his pockets, this Non-verbal communication shows how confident the main subject is and it also connotes that he thinks he is better than most other people as the stance is rather over confident. The lighting used in the main image is high-key which suggests that he wants to be seen/acknowledged
The typography used for this media product are suitable for this genre as most rap fonts are simple but bold with a colour that really stands out this allows for the words to be read easily and visually engaging for the audience. The main cover line is "JAY-Z" in the grey and the second biggest font on the page, this is obviously the subjects name and it make us aware that he is the topic of the main article. The other cover lines are in the same font but coloured Black, white or yellow, they are spread around the subject and they all state names of other rappers and this would attract their target audience and make them more likely to purchase the magazine as they are most likely fans of these artists as well as Jay-Z.
The target audience of this magazine would most likely be males aged between 16 and 30 and maybe females aged between 16 and 25 who like the rap genre of music, the age ranges are so big because many of artists stated on the cover have been around for many years which has meant that they have gained fans from many different age groups (from when they started to now)
XXL - Sept 2005
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/8/1/13816468/7673294.jpg)
When I look at this double page spread I see a man, who is dressed casually, sitting on the table of a bench with his feet on the seat then I see a building with graffiti on it in the background, then is see the headline, then I see the text column, then I see a quote which must be from the person in the
photo and then I finally see the page number, the name of the magazine and the date line
The man in photo is in possession of a lot expensive things e.g. multiple chains and a shiny watch this tells me that this man is really wealthy and the tattoos make him look tough; the lighting in this shot doesn’t really tell me anything about the man or the double page spread, the
clothes that this man is wearing tell me that he is an urban person as his clothes are baggy and he is wearing trainers which is what you would expect an urban person to dress like, the mans non-verbal communication makes me think that there is something bothering him as he has a serious look on his face and he is holding his hands or maybe it could mean that he is in a deep thought , the setting of this photo tells me that he grew up or currently lives in a rough neighbourhood which makes the man look even tougher as he can wear all of that jewellery with out the fear of getting robbed
I thought that the urban style fonts used for the headline and the quote at the bottom of the page really suited this article because the
article is about rap and rap is quite an urban and I think that is why the writer decided to go with those fonts
I think that the target audience for this would be young people because there isn’t that much writing and there is a big picture and a stereo type for young people is that they don’t like to read and because its based on the music genre of rap I am also guessing that it is aimed at black people because rap is normally associated with black people so I would say that this is aimed at young black people
photo and then I finally see the page number, the name of the magazine and the date line
The man in photo is in possession of a lot expensive things e.g. multiple chains and a shiny watch this tells me that this man is really wealthy and the tattoos make him look tough; the lighting in this shot doesn’t really tell me anything about the man or the double page spread, the
clothes that this man is wearing tell me that he is an urban person as his clothes are baggy and he is wearing trainers which is what you would expect an urban person to dress like, the mans non-verbal communication makes me think that there is something bothering him as he has a serious look on his face and he is holding his hands or maybe it could mean that he is in a deep thought , the setting of this photo tells me that he grew up or currently lives in a rough neighbourhood which makes the man look even tougher as he can wear all of that jewellery with out the fear of getting robbed
I thought that the urban style fonts used for the headline and the quote at the bottom of the page really suited this article because the
article is about rap and rap is quite an urban and I think that is why the writer decided to go with those fonts
I think that the target audience for this would be young people because there isn’t that much writing and there is a big picture and a stereo type for young people is that they don’t like to read and because its based on the music genre of rap I am also guessing that it is aimed at black people because rap is normally associated with black people so I would say that this is aimed at young black people
XXL - Double page spread
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/8/1/13816468/6281079.jpg)
When I look at this double page spread the first thing I see two
nicely dressed young adults posing, I then see a long quote which looks to be the
headline, I then see text columns, I then see a small question and answer
section and then in the bottom right corner I can see a web address, a date line
and a page number
By looking at the props the men are using in the I can tell that they are wealthy because they both have gold or diamond rings, gold or diamond chains, gold or diamond watches and an expensive belt in their possession, in the shot there is a lot of high key lighting maybe to show how important, the costumes that the two men are wearing also tells me that they are wealthy because they look really suave I think their costume tells us about their age and their profession they dress how I would expect a teenager or a rapper to dress and seeing as they are also wearing a lot of ostentatious jewellery I’m assuming they are rappers, the non-verbal communication of the man closest to the front in the photo tells me that he is in conflict and he is saying “come on then” because of the way he has positioned his arms and hands, his facial expression tells me that he is confident as he looks to be unfazed or calm and his stance also tells me confident on the matter, the man furthest back in the shot his stance seems to be quite serious as if he is the other persons mentor or guardian and his facial expression seems to be quite serious as if there is something that needs to be sorted out, eve though he is behind the other person he is definitely the dominant figure in the shot, the setting of the photograph doesn’t tell me much but it is plain white this could be like this to show how important the two men are
I thought that the font used for this double page spread’s head line was good for its purpose as it is an urban style font which matches this genre of music nicely and all of the writing was easily visible because it was black writing on a white background
I think that this magazine is aimed at black teenagers I say this because there are two rap icons looking nice and fresh in the main image and the genre rap is normally with young black people and the reason that there isn’t much writing maybe because of the stereo type that teenagers don’t like to read, it is also probably targeted at males as it doesn’t really look female friendly
nicely dressed young adults posing, I then see a long quote which looks to be the
headline, I then see text columns, I then see a small question and answer
section and then in the bottom right corner I can see a web address, a date line
and a page number
By looking at the props the men are using in the I can tell that they are wealthy because they both have gold or diamond rings, gold or diamond chains, gold or diamond watches and an expensive belt in their possession, in the shot there is a lot of high key lighting maybe to show how important, the costumes that the two men are wearing also tells me that they are wealthy because they look really suave I think their costume tells us about their age and their profession they dress how I would expect a teenager or a rapper to dress and seeing as they are also wearing a lot of ostentatious jewellery I’m assuming they are rappers, the non-verbal communication of the man closest to the front in the photo tells me that he is in conflict and he is saying “come on then” because of the way he has positioned his arms and hands, his facial expression tells me that he is confident as he looks to be unfazed or calm and his stance also tells me confident on the matter, the man furthest back in the shot his stance seems to be quite serious as if he is the other persons mentor or guardian and his facial expression seems to be quite serious as if there is something that needs to be sorted out, eve though he is behind the other person he is definitely the dominant figure in the shot, the setting of the photograph doesn’t tell me much but it is plain white this could be like this to show how important the two men are
I thought that the font used for this double page spread’s head line was good for its purpose as it is an urban style font which matches this genre of music nicely and all of the writing was easily visible because it was black writing on a white background
I think that this magazine is aimed at black teenagers I say this because there are two rap icons looking nice and fresh in the main image and the genre rap is normally with young black people and the reason that there isn’t much writing maybe because of the stereo type that teenagers don’t like to read, it is also probably targeted at males as it doesn’t really look female friendly
Nas - Double page spread
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/8/1/13816468/8776262.jpg?253)
Firstly, I can see nas sitting down as if he is in deep thought, He takes up the whole space of an A-4 page, behind him I can see a punching bag and a machine which makes setting loo like a gym, then I can see the text column on the right hand side, then I see the drop capital "C" and the quote at the bottom of the page and then I see the subjects name "nas"
The subject in the main image is wearing a white wife beater vest, which is a typical thing for an African American, a rapper or both to wear at a casual time which makes the subject look like a rapper, He is also wearing a silver necklace, a diamond ring and a diamond watch these props make it clear that the subject is a wealthy man as these are expensive items. The subject Non-verbal communication makes me think that he has been disturbed from a deep thought or that he is about to open up about something very personal and his facial expression makes the topic look negative. the setting seems to be a gym and the low-key lighting make it seems as if the subject has himself away in this gym combined with his non-verbal communication it looks as if he has been working his mind as well as his body during his isolation
The typography used for the article is suitable for its purpose because the artist is telling the reporter about a past event that shaped the rest of his life, which made the subjects name, the drop capital and the pull quote being in that older styled font and that shade of brown more effective because its as if it has come out of a history text book. The font used is also simple and black which makes it very easy to read against the white background
The subject in the main image is wearing a white wife beater vest, which is a typical thing for an African American, a rapper or both to wear at a casual time which makes the subject look like a rapper, He is also wearing a silver necklace, a diamond ring and a diamond watch these props make it clear that the subject is a wealthy man as these are expensive items. The subject Non-verbal communication makes me think that he has been disturbed from a deep thought or that he is about to open up about something very personal and his facial expression makes the topic look negative. the setting seems to be a gym and the low-key lighting make it seems as if the subject has himself away in this gym combined with his non-verbal communication it looks as if he has been working his mind as well as his body during his isolation
The typography used for the article is suitable for its purpose because the artist is telling the reporter about a past event that shaped the rest of his life, which made the subjects name, the drop capital and the pull quote being in that older styled font and that shade of brown more effective because its as if it has come out of a history text book. The font used is also simple and black which makes it very easy to read against the white background