XXL is a hip hop magazine first published in 1997 that features rappers and hip hop artists. It began by only featuring rap but expanded to hip hop to increase sales. Published 6 times per year in New York City, XXL also covers topics like fashion and culture. While print issues stopped in 2014, it continues online with information about new music and artists. The target audience is predominantly male rap fans between 16-24 interested in music, fashion, and hip hop culture.

3.  First published in 1997.
 The first issue featured rappers Jay Z and
Master P.
 To begin with the magazine only featured Rap
but as it got more popular it began to feature
Hip Hop to help sales.
 XXL is a music magazine that has featured
many rap/hip hop artists.
 It is based in New York City and only releases
6 editions a year.

4. The first editions of XXL

5. The colour scheme is mainly
red, black and white which has
been the same through out the
years since the first publication.
The main image presents a
typical male who is usually
black as the stereotype of
rappers is African American
typically.
Other rap artist that feature in
the magazine will be on the
front cover some where on most
front covers of XXL
The artist on the front cover will
usually be wearing some sort of
jewellery and have tattoos on
show. Also the artist will often
have a hardened face to help
them look cool and serious.

6.  Its issued only 6 times a year but has recently
decided to stop printing because of the
decrease in sales.
 XXL have a website online where you can find
out tons of information about latest albums, all
of the big Hip Hop artists, new songs etc.
 Follows a standard magazine layout with
colours and text.
 Other than music XXL covers fashion and
culture.
 The cost of the magazine is $5 which is £3.14 in
the UK.

7. Homepage of XXL

8.  The fans of Rap music will be the target
audience of XXL.
 Aged between 16-24.
 Predominantly male readers
 Active rap fans who listen and like to know the
latest about hip hop.
 Interested in video games, fashion, gangs and
possibly drugs.
 Sees XXL as a rap magazine that will cover all
of their favourite artists.

10.  XXL features a lot of iconography associated
with hip hop/rap and the style around it e.g.
jewellery, tattoos, money, violence, guns.
 The magazine is laid out in a professional way
with capitalised text to have a stronger impact
on the audience.
 Red, black and white are the main colours of
the magazine which go well with primary
colours such as yellow and blue.
 These styles suggest that the readership is
mainly male.

11. The facial expressions of these two
artists are straight and serious. 50
cent is covering his face which
suggests he is hiding, possibly crime.
The magazines main colours of
black, red and white.
Tattoos on show and baggy clothing
being rap related, giving the target
audience a fashion sense to follow.
Big bold text to catch attention from
the target audience and others.
Very professionally laid out and has
a clean cut/smart feel to it.

12.  The mode of Address of XXL is casual and
quite basic and therefore there isn’t much text
to present.
 As there isn’t much text on this magazine there
isn’t any text to analyse. The only text on there
mainly is rap artists names.
 The lack of writing means that the magazine
wants you to focus on the main image because
the magazine will most likely have a big story
about the front cover artist.

13. As you can see that the
main sell line is short and
attention seeking. It also
goes with the artist that is
on the front cover, Lil
Wayne.
The rest of the text is on
the right side of the
magazine which brings in
the rule of thirds meaning
that this is what the
audience will see last.
Also the text on the right is
just the other artists
featured in this magazine.

14.  Owned by Vanessa Staten
 Produced by Harris Publications.
 First issue 1997, final issue 0ctober 2014.
 XXL took over struggling DJ magazine Scratch
and had other special projects such as Hip Hop
Soul, Eye Candy and Shady45.
 Published by Townsquare Media.
 Based in New York – America.
 Has a website called www.XXLMag.com.

15. 1997 - 2014