2. Cover
Colour- Lots of black, black clothes are
common in hip hop culture. The yellow
on black shows that it is an important
story, yellow and black usually have
connotations of an emergency or
danger. Blue, shows that there is some
calm stories in the magazine.
Design-Images clearly linked to the
stories that they are for. Lots of different
stories on the cover, quite
overwhelming. Main image overlaps
title. Sans-serif cover lines, serif
masthead. All words are in capital
letters, this looks quite amateur. There
are lots of images of famous people.
Images- The images are all previously taken images,
they were not taken by the magazine. The images link
clearly to the stories and there are some very famous
people who would attract a huge range of fans, for
example Dr.Dre is very iconic and would attract a lot of
male fans of all ages whereas Rihanna would mainly
attract younger women. 50 Cent would attract lots of
people as he is very well known.
Pose, style, hair, make-up-The
images on the cover are normal images
that were not taken by a photographer
for the magazine showing that they are
for news stories and not for interviews
with the people involved. The main
image of 50 Cent and Diddy uses direct
address making it seem that the story is
important as well as drawing people in,
there are many smaller images which
means that there will probably be
something to attract most people
interested in the genre but it looks less
professional.
How are words used?- The
masthead is slightly covered because it
is easy to work out that it says Hip-Hop.
Large headline attracts people to the
story and makes it seem important,
“Shots Fired” makes it seem like the
story could become violent which would
attract people. Yellow and white text on
black background draws attention.
Language-Quite informal language for example
‘trashes’ makes the magazine seem more suitable
for teenagers and young adults which are the
largest audiences for Hip-Hop and Rap music. Has a
lot of gossip showing that the magazine is for
younger people.
Overall impression - I think the cover is quite
effective and shows a lot of stories but it is quite
hectic and doesn’t seem very mature. There are lots
of images of very famous people, this will attract
lots of people as these people have lots of fans.
Institution/distribution- This
magazine is sold in shops like WH Smith
as it wouldn’t have a large fan base in
England. The magazine is published by
David Mays who also publishes The
Source, another hip hop magazine.
4. Contents
Colour- Red and black, easy to distinguish and
makes the stories seem important. Small amounts
of yellow make those stories stand out and seem
important. Different colour logos signify sections,
oink is a stereotypical colour for style as fashion is
often linked to women.
Design- It is clear which pages the images are linked to
and who is in the images because it says where they’re
from and who they are at the bottom of the images. The
folios are clearly stated next to the contents. The contents
are neatly arranged and have borders so that you can
clearly read them.
Images- There is an image of Jamie Foxx this would attract fans of his music but
also fans of his movies. The image of Quent wouldn’t attract as many people as he
is less well known, this is why the image is lower on the page. The image of Quent
seems more professional than the other images, this suggests that the magazine is
quite low budget as they cannot get hold of well-known people.
Pose, style, hair, make-up-The image of Jaime Foxx seems very relaxed
and he seems very natural. The image of Foxx is an action shot of him playing
the drums which could attract fans by suggesting the story will be about his
music. In the image of Quent seems a lot like a professionally taken image that
is specifically for the magazine, this suggests that he will be interviewed as they
would have actually had to be with him. The fact that Quent was actually
interviewed and it isn’t just a story would attract his fans.
How are words used?- Lots of red and black
text which links to the Eazy-E story. The sections on
the left have alternating colours for titles making
them easy to distinguish between. White
background makes all the text easy to read. Large
titles making the stories easy to find and then small
descriptions further explaining the story.
Language- Still some informal text but overall seems more mature, this is so
people can take the magazine seriously when they are reading it. An informal
cover is okay as you don’t have to read much but reading a lot of informal text
is distracting and isn’t engaging.
Overall impression- The contents are laid out well and show clearly what
the stories are and where to find them. The sections Style etc. are very good.
Flannel panel used to fill space so the page looks less empty.
6. Double Page Spread
Colour- Mainly black and
white, relates to the fact that
Eazy-E is from the past and also
links to the fact that NWA have a
black and white logo. The names
of Eazy E and Little Eazy are in
red so they stand out when you
look through the magazine. Blue
is used for the questions, so
they are easy to separate from
the replies.
Design- There is a large
and very iconic image of
Eazy-E at the top of the first
page, this will be instantly
recognisable to fans, and his
son is on the other page.
The text is clear and
organised well. The
headline is very attractive to
fans of Eazy and NWA as it is
about Eazy’s legacy.
Images- The iconic image of Eazy would
attract his large fan base to the story. The
image of Eazy is in black and white linking
it to the fact he is dead as well as the black
and white NWA logo. The image of Little
Eazy is similar to the image of his father
because he is wearing the extremely iconic
Compton hate that Eazy-E made famous
and is easily linked to the classic NWA
album Straight Outta Compton. The image
of Little Eazy uses direct address.
Pose, style, hair, make-up- The image of Eazy-E is
just his face and therefore is very personal but his eyes
are covered meaning he also seems quite intimidating
which links well to his music which is often violent and
about the drugs, sex and violence associated with his
hometown Compton. The image of Little Eazy uses direct
gaze which will attract people, he is also pointing at the
camera which suggests that the interview is very
personal to him and that he is connecting to the reader.
He is smoking which links to the music Eazy-E made
particularly songs like Dope Man which is about drugs.
How are words used?- Black and
white text is similar to the iconic NWA logo
as well as Eazy’s famous Compton hat. Q and
A section has Little Eazy talking about his
father, would attract fans of both artists. Red
text for the word Eazy relates to Eazy’s
violent lyrics which were especially
prominent in his iconic Dr.Dre ‘diss tracks’.
Text simply laid out and easy to read. Sans-
serif titles so they stand out and seem
modern but serif typeface for main text so it
is easy to read.
Language- The main
text is formal so that it is
easy to read and is
engaging. The text for the
interview is less formal
because it says what
Little Eazy said meaning
the reader can
understand what he is
like and the interview
seems more authentic.
Overall impression-
The double page spread
is quite effective because
the interview seems very
personal and because of
the colour scene which is
simple but very effective.
It would be very
appealing to fans of the
genre because Eazy-E is
one of the legends of Rap
music.
