I researched conventions of hip hop magazines like GQ to design my own rap magazine. On the cover, I duplicated GQ's short, catchy title and placement of cover lines. For the photoshoot, I used dark lighting to capture the hip hop look with my white model, and included props like a gold chain to show wealth. In the contents page, my model held jewelry in his mouth as seen in famous magazines. Throughout, I focused on appealing to youth by using a 17-year-old model, informal language, and topics like music drama that interest teenagers.

1. COVERPAGECONTENTSPAGE

2. I carried out very specific research before I started to choose my music genre. During my
research I discovered that different conventions and elements go into making a magazine. I
focused on the big names who are famous for their magazines such as GQ as they featured a
couple artists related to my genre. I therefore used them as a base and used similar layouts,
colours etc. to make the genre as close to theirs as possible.
First glance we see no similarities between the two however surprisingly this GQ magazine
inspired my design of my cover page. If we compare the two we can see that the
placements of the cover lines are similar. The GQ magazine is famous for its short but catchy
title therefore I tried to duplicate that with my copy.
Mise En Scene:
The majority of hip hop / rap artists are dark skinned therefore high key lighting is used to
bring them out more. In my case my model was white therefore I decided to use darker
lighting to capture the hip hop look. Close to 100% of magazines have the background of the
image taken out. Therefore, the setting is based on the colour background they choose. In
my case I wanted something light but not boring. I got the inspiration off GQ magazine. I did
use props however and this consisted of a large gold chain around the models neck. I feel
like gold is seen as a rich material and consequently rappers are always showing off their
money. There are several occasions in famous magazine cover where the artist will be
holding jewellery in his mouth. I attempted this in my contents page.
There was no need of any makeup for my artist however after doing research I learnt that
many of the artists were getting spots Photo shopped off their face to make their face
clearer. On both my contents and cover page I did a slight clear up of spot on my models
forehead.
When it comes down to the models body language, body positioning and posing I found out
that the images are more effective with a medium shot of the artist. This will result in a
larger area of the magazine covered with the models face which is the first initial reaction as
a reader. As well as this the eye contact is a major key for a magazine cover. From my study
I found out that over 90% of successful magazines have the artist staring directly down the
camera.
DOUBLEPAGESPREAD

3. Magazine subjects / artists / models:
40% Males and females under the age of twenty-one listen to rap / hip hop music. A smart
technique that I found out is by using an artist in that age group will result in an increase
sale of your magazine. My model is seventeen therefore the audience will most likely read
this then a rap magazine with someone the age of forty. It is also important that your artist
is somewhat attractive as 74% of females read a magazine as they are attracted to someone
from the opposite sex.
In terms of class I discovered that the more “posh” your background the better your posture
is. I made sure that my artist did not have a straight posture for my images. In my final
images my model was slightly bent to one side and leaning forward into his hands.
Language, fonts and writing style:
Researching other double page spread I noticed that they included interviews with the
artists which included a lot of slang and informal English. I re-created one of my own which
was similar to other magazines for example “aint” and/or “bruv”. I feel like by doing this you
connect more with the youth as they speak like this. In my contents page I tried to include
as many topics that are interesting for young boys and girls. For example, recently there has
been a lot of drama between Soulja Boy and Chris Brown therefore I included a cover line
“SOULJA BOY VS CHRIS BROWN?”. From experience I know that money is important when
you are young therefore I also made a cover line called “GOLD RUSH” as these topics relate
to the youth.
Overall I believe I have portrayed Rap well in my magazine. Conventions of rap include
jewellery, informal language, dark theme and street clothing. My main focus was to have an
artist who looks like he is still in pain from his past however now he has done well for
himself and he shows this by his gold chain. I also assured that he was wearing what is in
trend now. This includes layering his clothes which is a massive trend and by wearing
fashionable (but expensive) clothes. The lighting was hard to get right. This is because it
needs to go well with the colours of the magazine and also the skin colour of the artist.
I made sure I kept the same background colour throughout all three (the cover page, the
contents page and the double page spread). I did this so that as the reader you can tell that
they are all linked. This is very important when designing your magazine.