An overview of front covers from XXL.

1. FRONT COVER OVERVIEW

2. All front covers are from the front cover of XXL magazine and so they
have all been designed with the intention of attracting fans of hip-
hop/rap and R&B music. Through carrying out an investigation of them
and by comparing them to each other, it is possible to identify shared
features within them and to establish repeated patterns.
The six front covers all feature typical magazine front cover
conventions. We see expected general and layout conventions, such as
the inclusion of a main image that dominates the front cover and sell-
lines that surround the main image which relate to content inside and a
masthead designed in an appropriate font.
In addition to this, we see other repeated patterns. Each of the front
covers features an artist or occasionally hip-hop crews as the main
image. Obviously, we expect to see some kind of music artist on the
front of a music magazine, but the consistent appearance of a single
artist on XXL indicates that crews in hip-hop are not as popular because
single artists are much more respected and seen as unique in the world
of hip-hop/rap, however this is not the case with R&B. This is likely to be
due to the famous say ‘money, power and respect’ which was in fact the
main sell line for 50 Cents issue on XXL, hip-hop is all about being
dominant and powerful and being in a crew takes that all away by
sharing equity, finance and brand. Hip-hop culture is very stuborn; it is
dominated by males which means sharing power, money or respect is
not credible or accounted, as a result crews are not as popular today
compared to the early era of hip-hop such as N.W.A, Public Enemy RUN
DMC and G-unit.
In each of the front covers, we can see that there is only one artist
featured on the front cover. This composition is repeated consistently to
indicate the importance and status of the unique artist, this is also shown
by their body language and expressions as they are all different
according to their own personalities in contribution to the hip-hop
culture. This is, of course, a powerful and clever way of attracting the
magazine’s target audience, as the artist’s own signiture personality
expressions or body language is probably likely to be recognisable. This
idea is taken a step further on the front cover featuring Jay-Z, positioned
in the centre however slightly to the right sharing the centre with the

3. main sell line, in addition to being placed centrally, it is a way of
showing his audience his ‘game face’ when it comes to ‘big business’.
In addition, the artist featured is always male; Jay-Z is the one of the
most successful rappers in the hip-hop industry and is also known for
his business ventures which is another way he shows his success and
power over the culture, which is the way XXL tries to achieve within
each artist according to their individual personality. This applies to the
smaller feature cover lines that are somehow associated or similar to
Jay-Z e.g. 50 Cent. This serves to reflect the fact that the genre of hip-
hop/rap – associated with agression, explicit language, arrogance and
hardcore beats – is dominated by male artists. The fact that a female is
not strong enough to handle the ‘big business’ of the industry, hence the
reason females are unpopular in the hip-hop/rap culture.
We can see other similarities in the mise-en-scene elements that are
presented on each front cover. In terms of costume, the artists are
united by the fact that they are all wearing either white or black, muted
colours and costume that is fairly low key and relaxed (sportwear T-
shirts, hoodies and sweatshirts etc) except for pop/R&B/hip-hop artist
chris brown who is known for merging pop and hip-hop together
coming out with a very unique style which is more widespread in terms
of target audience. However, the simplicity of the clothing has been
purposley achieved to show off the amount of jewlerry shown on each
artist, this is done in hip-hop to prove and show wealth. This is a look
that is fairly synonymous with artists within the genre of hip/hop.
On one front cover, Rick Ross is wearing a white suit, which is a break
away form the costume that we commonly see on XXL. This costume
choice does indeed seem unprecedented, but could be a sign that the
band ‘mean business’ or it could indicate his power beyond sports wear
and can cross bridges to luxury suits and another type of power the
industry isn’t use to, this is also related to his nick name mentioned as
the sell line ‘Who’s the bawse?’refering to Rick Ross similarly known for
his business ventures such as his music label Maybach Music Group.
The unusual look would be more readily accepted by the audience, as
Rick Ross always expresses in his music how he will be more than ‘hood’
successful which is why he is still repected and unique. However he still
remains with his roots to hip-hop culture exposing the tattoos on his
hands and his beard which is not usual neat for a suit and tie job. Big

4. dark luxury designer glasses seesm to be more popular too, maintaining
the flaunt of wealth associated with this genre of music.
On each front cover, the signature XXL masthead appears in exactly the
same bold font and in exactly the same place. Each time, the masthead
is of white letters surrounded by a red rectangle kown as a wob,
establishing a bright, masculine and exciting mood. Without exception,
the artist is always placed infront of the masthead so that it is not fully
visible most times. This suggests the success and popularity that XXL
has achieved as a publication, as it would be too much of an unwise
move if the magazine was new, unestablished or did not have a loyal
fanbase.
Another repeated feature comes in the form of the main cover line and
strapline that always sits directly across the entire XXL masthead. Each
time, this is used to draw attention to the artists that will feature inside.
On one of the front covers featuringJay-Z, for example, the audience is
informed of his name and under it claiming he is untouchable, this tests
authority and power which messes with male egos therefore intregues
the readership to see whats so ‘untouchable’. A claim like this, of course,
reminds us that the readership of XXL is likely to be an aspiring artist
themselves.
Furthermore, sell-lines feature quite brief. In the six front covers there
is, alongside the main sell-line it features mainly other artists that will
feature besides the artist on the main cover. It is always the name of the
artist that is featured on the front as the main image, accompanied
occasionally by further text, e.g. ’Big Sean. Living The Good Life’. This
could be because of the fact that the frame has already been dominated
by the main. It could also be due to the fact that the main artist
featured is enough to sell the magazine. Finally, it could be because
male audiences respond more to visuals; as we know, the core reader of
XXL is male. Although there are few sell-lines as such, each front cover
includes a list of more artists at the bottom that will appear inside,
introduced with the word ‘plus’ and some artists that are associated with
the main artist featured on the front cover. This is a great feature, as it
allows the audience to see, at a glance, which artists will appear inside.
The list-like structure also serves to suggest that there is a lot of artist-
related content for the audience to enjoy e.g. up and coming mixtapes
or exclusive interviews.

5. Colour-wise, XXL tends to stick to a similar colour scheme in each issue
following their house style. White, Red and black feature most
consistently and these three colours are accompanied by either grey or
gold. Being primary colours, these will appeal to a male readership,
while the use of black and white captures the heavy contrast which
makes it bold, clear and simple which is visually appealing to men
because of its simplicity. The red gives it brightness, especially on the
masthead as it is usually covered by the artists head, which means even
though its covered the brightness of the red will help pay attention to
the masthead.
Layout is fairly consistent across the six front covers too. As mentioned
earlier, the placement of the artists featured is similar in each.
Depending on the time of the issue and the artist sometimes the layout
does change e.g. the latest XXL covers are the three featured at the
bottom which all have in common that the sell-lines are placed as the
background, compared to XXL in 2008, it is now the most recognized
and most successful established hip-hop magazine which means they do
not have to sell their magazine through information on the front cover
to see what’s interesting but simply the image featured at the front,
whether it’s the target audiences’ choice of artist to be interested in
reading. However, all three do still feature clear main sell-lines of who
the artist is and extra text to intrigue the readership.
The remaining three at the top front covers, feature the main sell-line in
the bottom left and one in the bottom center. Either way, this is a key
area of the front cover where the audience’s eye will automatically go.
The sell-lines are placed around the main image mostly in the left hand
third not too close to the main sell-line, but where they can be seen next
by the audience. The magazine does not need to use an instrumental in
persuading the audience to buy the magazine as the slogan already
reassures the audience that it is ‘hip-hop on a higher level’.
Having carried out this overview, it is obvious that XXL has its own
brand identity and signature look that can be easily recognized by its
target audience. This is maintained through the repetition of stylistic
and layout features from issue to issue and is a wonderful way of
helping the magazine to sell and succeed.