An analysis of XXL's front cover, The Game's edition.

1. Front Cover Analysis: The Game XXL Magazine
Masthead: The mastheadconsistsof large white blockletters
‘XXL’surroundedbya rectangle shape of the colourredit isvery
boldand simple anddistinct. Thesecolours couldhave been
chosenas the contrast betweenthe twocoloursisgreatwhich
meansitis easyto recognise.Alsothe colourredmeansdanger,
traditionally warningsignsuse the coloursof redandwhite,this
showsauthorityof the brand.The mastheadis a sans serif
typeface whichisaconventionwithinhiphopmagazines
because hip-hopisaboldgenre withinmusictherefore it’s
shownthroughboldtypefacesratherthana fancyor elegant
typeface. Itdoesn’tdominatethe page asit isnot neededdue to
it beinganestablishedcompanywithstrongbrandidentity.
Puttingthe artistsinfrontof the mastheadalsoplaces
importance of themtooand indicatesthatthe mag’ssole priority
isto promote the artist. The term‘XXL’is usuallyassociatedwith
clothingmeaning‘extra,extralarge’thiscanbe linkedtothe
style of hip-hopclothingwhere baggyclotheswasverypopularin
the early2000s withinthe hip-hopculture,the artistfeaturedon
thisedition‘The Game’isknowntowearsuch clothes.Thiscan
alsomeanin termsof hiphop the ‘XXL’s’of hip-hopmeaningthe
greatestandmost powerful inthe industrywhichisusuallythe
case with‘XXL’magazine theymostlyfeaturerespectedand
successful hip-hopartistssuchasJay-z,P Diddy,50 cent,Dr. Dre,
EminemandNas.
Camera Angle/shot:The cameraangle inthismagazine coveris
positionedataslighthighangled shotwithanaudience pointof
view.Thisangle hasbeenchosenbecause itshows weakness
and no authorityordominance inThe Game;thiscouldbe ina
viewof weaknessfromthe police or the iconographyof the
bandanasignifiesthatinsteadof handcuffswhichsymbolises
the lawhe isarrestedand redistrictedbythe ‘hood’orhis
surroundingsinthe industry.The audience’spointof viewis
lookingdownatThe Game as he hasbeenrestrictedmusically
and institutionally whichisthe case withalot of youngblack
menwhomay readthis magazine whichgivesthemsomething
to relate to. The type of camera shotthat has beenusedisa
mediumclose upof the mainartist,conventionallyhip-hop
magazineswouldtake amediumshotbecause itallowsthe
readershiptorecognise the genre byviewingthe costume,body
language andposition,inthiscase thisissue isof a more
intimate matterwhichiswhythere is a muchmore closerview
of the artistemotionratherthancostume and jewellery.
The use of dark redimpliesonlythe mostdangerousanddeadliestartistsare featuredinthismagazine which
iswhy ithas beenimplementedwithinthe anchorage ’Troublesome’ whichisinevendarkerred, showinghe
isdangerousanduntouchable.The mainimage coversthe mastheadwhichisthe case withmostissuesof
thismagazine thisisbecause thismagazinesbrandidentityissowell knownbeingthe onlyleadinghip-hop
magazine inthe world.In,additionputtingthe artistinfrontof the mastheadshowsoff whattheyrepresent
inthe magazine whichisonlythe best.

2. Main Image: The mainimage consistsof west coast gangster
rapperand ex G-unitmemberThe Game.He featuressignals
that celebrateship-hopmusic.Thisisshownthroughhischoice
of colour,bodylanguage,expression,position andiconography.
His bodylanguage isveryrestrictedwe cansee he has a bigbuild
fromhis shoulders –commonconventionof rappers.The
positionof hisheadisslightlyturnedsowe cansee hisbutterfly
tattoo The Game’sfacial expressionisveryhostileandangryhe
has hisclenchedfistsupas it’scuffedbya black bandana;he is
alsowithouta shirtshowinghistattoosunclearlyandhiswatch
inshowon hisleftwrist. Thisisveryunusual onXXL magazine to
portray a rapperin thiswaybecause the mediausesthe
hypodermicneedle theorytopresentrappersinthislightas
‘troublesomemenaces’whogangbang- thisisnota usual
conventioninahip-hopmagazine astheyusuallyspreadlight
and talkpositivityinthe genre.
The Games facial expressionisvery
hostile andharshas if he’sgoingto
act violentlywhichisthe conventions
of a hip-hopmagazine,forthe artist
to seem‘hard-core’andnot
emotional butinsteadto look
intimidatingandscarybecause it’s
seenas‘cool’. Alsobeinga
‘troublesome’ isfearedand
respected.
However,thisimage doesn’tshowall typical conventions
of a moderngangsterhip-hipsuchasmoney,cars,
jewelleryand womenbecause thisspecificissue istodo
witha un forgettable dispute withthe mosttwopowerful
gangsterMCs at the time whichdidn’tneedmuchbut
explainingandameaningful picture thatcanpresentthis
dispute .Alsothe game has neverbeenaboutthe typical
conventionsashe isan oldschool rapperhe isknownfor
lovinghishome areaComptonandlovesthe legacyof the
greatestartistswhowas leftbehindsuchas2Pac and the
groupN.W.A and hisdaughter.
However, thishadtobe done due to The Games
unspeakable behaviourinthe pressaboutthe G-unit
dispute whichexplainswhythe cuffs are not police
cuffs,buta blackbandanawhichsymbolisesbeing
cuffedbyhisownenvironment‘the hood’.Thisallows
XXL magazine touse thisimage as mode of addressto
speakto itsyoungaudience whomaybe facingexactly
the same problemswithfightingthe ‘hood’or
becomingaproduct of theirenvironmentwithno
escape.
Eventhoughof all the negativity The Game still showssuccess
throughhiswealth - hiswatch and chain thisisn’tshownas clearly
because itisnot importantwithinthisissue. HisNewEracap is
anotherconventional iconographyusedwhichrepresentswhere
the artist isfrom.For hip-hopfanswe don’thave tosee the frontof
the cap because we alreadyknowitisan‘LA’ cap whichisdifferent
to the one 50 cent (NYcap) wore,whichcould be anotherreason
for the dispute –thisis verycommoninhip-hopculture whichfirst
startedfromthe notoriousrappersbiggie and2pacresultinghatred
of the eastand westcoast. This isrecognitionforthe readership
and testingthemonwhattheyknow.

3. Colour Scheme: The schemesusedinthisfrontcoverare
mainlycoloursof black,red,white andgrey.The blackusedin
thisfrontcover isusedon the textandmain sell line behind
the word ‘TROUBLESOME’ and usedconventionalhiphop
iconographyin the mainimage (NewEracap andbandana).
Thisuse of blackon the covercreatessymbiosisandhas
meaningof darkness,ganganddeath.Thisall relatestothe
storybehindthe ‘TROUBLESOME’.
The backgroundis veryplainandsimple
usingthe colourwhite thatfadesinto
greylike anoldphotographthiseffect
couldbe usedto describe ‘oldnews’of
hisdispute andthat he istellinghis
account. The magazine usesalot of the
colourred whichcan be saidto symbolise
bloodbecause hip-hopisassociatedwith
a lot of gun violence especiallygangster
rap.
The sell line usesawobhoweverusesred
insteadof white inthe word
‘TROUBLESOME’ and a black rectangle
background. The red and blackoverlap
signifiesgrave dangerandviolencethisis
alsoassociatedwiththe wordtroublesome
and howit relatestowhatthe game has
done to deserve thistitle.
The colour redusedisalso toshowsymbiosisbetweenthe mast
headand mainsell line thisrelatestothe meaningof danger,
bloodandgang. In general,the symbiosishappensacross
differentmediatextsratherthanexistingwithinthe same piece
of mediae.g.acrossmanyissues.The use of white andgreyison
the backgroundwhere white fadesintogrey,similarlythe white
mainsell line andthe mastheadwob.Thiscanbe relatedto
innocence andpurity.These coloursrepresentThe gamesstory
and whateach colourrepresents,the blackismainlytorepresent
NewYork gangsthiscan be associatedwithG-unitleadmember
50 cent andtheirdispute andhowthat he has beencuffedand
not beenlettofightback because of hisstatusand street
credibilitycomparedto50 cent. The redrepresentshisactionsin
the mediathat couldbe disturbing.However,hisname ‘THE
GAME’ is inwhite whichsuggestshisinnocence in thisdispute.

4. Target Audience:The demographicsforthismagazine would
more likelytobe male,aged19-36, workingclasswhobelongin
the C2DE professionalbracketwhoare predominantlyAfrican
American.Whenitcomesto the psychographicstothe targeted
marketof thismagazine,these youngmenare likelytobe lovers
of fashionmainlysneakers,practical hardworkers,howevermay
not be able to entirelyrelate toall hip-hopartistsfeaturedinthe
magazine e.g.The Game.Most people whowere inThe Games
positionwouldbe inprison,poor,anddeadorin hospital which
meanstheycan’t reallyaffordtokeepupwiththe musicindustry
at all especiallyinthe westcoastasComptonisone of the
dangerousareasinAmerica.
Thistarget audience are more likelytobe victimsof self-fulfillingprophecy
due to theirenvironmentsmakingthemarchetypes comparedtothe front
coveranalysisof 50 centthisissue focusesonhowto overcome challenges
a youngblack male mayface because of theirenvironment,byusingawell-
knowncelebrityinthe hip-hopindustryandgivinghisaccount,givinghope
for youngblackmento representthemselvesinawaythat contrastsfrom
theirstereotypesallowingthemtobecome acountertype andall be
ownersof theirliveslikethe magazine ownsthe dreamsof theiraudience.
Thismagazine providesgratificationsoutlinedbyBulmerand
Katz,such as identificationof featuredartists,social
interactionbygivinghip-hopfanssomethingtotalkabout-
such as disputes,andinformationonrelevantevents,italso
providesthe readershipwithentertainment/escapismas
theycan enjoyreadingthisabouttheirfavourite artists or
hot topicsthiscan be through‘eye candy’or ‘YoungJeezy’.
Thismagazine providesself-esteemneedswhichwere
outlinedbyAbrahamMaslowinthe hierarchyof needs,this
isbecause the readershipcan relate toThe Game inbeingin
disputesandthe readershipisamongyoungblackmenso
thismay be a way for themtoovercome theirproblemsand
not fall intotheirstereotype orself-fulfillingprophecies.This
target audience hasbeengivenavarietyof artiststo read
fromwhichhas beenplacedon the frontcover as a cover
that tailorstomore thanone genre of hip-hopsuchas
‘YOUNG JEEZY’,’T.I.’,’DAVIDBANNER’and‘JIMJONES’ .

5. Sell Lines: When itcomesto hip-hopmagazinesitisavery
small marketniche whichisdominatedby hip-hopmagazine
companyXXL.They have the powertofeature anyhip-hop
artisttheywant,on the front covertheywouldmostlikely
feature a veryrelevantartistinthe industryatthat moment in
time whichisstatedinthe strapline ontopof the masthead,
such as ex G-unitmemberThe Game whohas beeninthe hip-
hopmediaa lot fordisputesandmisunderstandingsof where
histalentstands.The strapline of thismagazine states‘hip-
hopon a higherlevel’whichgivesthe audience more
confidence inbuyingthismagazine becauseitsbeyondwhat
youhear on anymediaplatforme.g.BET,suggestingitis
exclusive,worththe moneyandbeyondusual hip-hop
magazinessuchas hiphopweeklywhichfocuses
predominantlyongossip.
In thisissue because The Game isnotas well-knownas
otherhip-hopartistssuchas hisformerpartner50 cent
whichisone of the reasonshe hasn’tbeenpromotedas
much onthe frontcoveras 50 centsissue where aquote
fromhis interviewwasused.Instead theyjustsimply
addressedinthe anchorage ‘Troublesome’placedunder
the mainsell line whichwillautomaticallycatchthe eye of
hip-hopfansandunderstandwhatismeantby
‘Troublesome’due toThe Game’smenace anddifficult
behaviourthathasbeenexposedinthe publiceye about
hisdispute withhisex-crewG-unitwhichwaspublishedas
soonas it happened.
His name whichisplacedonthe left-handthirdhasbeenplacedinwhite bigblocklettersontopthe anchorage ‘troublesome’notonly implyinghe
himself isatroublesomeyoungmanbutalso‘the game’thistermis usedinhip-hoptodescribe the industryandlifewhichlinkstothe use of the
bandanabeingtiedaroundhishands,the readershipwill be able tounderstandthisdue tothe conventionsof hip-hopmagazinesintermsof language
whichwill appeal tothem.Onthe right-handside the sell line informsthe audience of ‘G-unit’snewestwestcoastrecruit’whichisplacedclearlynear
The Game whichacts as a gossipsell lineimplying‘whoisThe Game’sreplacement’whichinawaydenouncesThe Game’sstreetcredibilityaswhat50
centhas done and so have the restof the G-unitfamily;thisconformstothe keyfeature inthe culture of hip-hopwhichis‘beef’meaningdispute,as
streetcredibilityandbeinghard-core isimportantinthe culture,promotingthiswill appealtothe audience tosee the ‘battle’first hand.The use of the
‘+’ signand theninformationunderneathshowsthe readertheyare gettingtheirmoney’sworthbecause of the ‘extra’informationfeaturedinthe
magazine.