Conventions of a Rap Magazine

Will Firth

Front Covers

RESPECT., XXL, VIBE.

In this task I will be focusing on the conventions of the magazine, XXL. I will be using ‘LIIAR’ – Language, Institution, Ideology, Audience and Representation. XXL is a RAP/R&B magazine that was originally published by Townsquare Media and is now published by Harris Publications. It is realised 6 times a year XXL is known worldwide and if you are into RAP/R&B then you will know this magazine and company, this is due to a feature called ‘Freshmen Class’. This is where the magazine writes about up and coming rappers and gives them a small article. They also do something on YouTube called ‘XXL Freshman [YEAR] Cypher’. This gives the reader an idea of what the rapper is like; this normally consists of 4 rappers that each take turn in doing a written freestyle over a instrumental.

The History of XXL: In August 1997, Harris Publications released the first issue of XXL. It featured rappers Jay-Z and Master P on a double cover. In December 2006, XXL took over the struggling hip hop producer and DJ magazine Scratch (another publication owned by Harris Publications), re-branding it as XXL Presents Scratch Magazine. However Scratch shut down less than a year later in September 2007. Other titles with limited runs have been launched under the XXL brand, including Hip-Hop Soul, Eye Candy and Shade45. XXL has released many other special projects including tour programs, mixtapes and exclusive DVDs. XXL also maintains a popular website, which provides daily hip hop news, original content and content from the magazine. In 2013, XXL started their own annual awards. With the top 5 being chosen by a public vote and all other winners and nominees picked by the XXL staff. In 2014, Townsquare Media acquired XXL, King and Antenna from Harris Publications. Townsquare then ceased print publication of XXL.

The main image is a group photo of the rap group in the main feature. They do this to represent what the feature is going to be about. Above each of the people in the photo they are captions with their names or rapping names at least, this is so the reader is informed about them, if they have never heard about them. The masthead has a red boarder and large, white writing what displays the magazines name therefore it is perfectly visible to the reader. The main title – ‘Black Hippy’ - is displayed on a black background against Kendrick Lamar’s white hoodie, so it’s a clear contrast between the black background and the white of his hoodie. It’s named Black Hippy but the group are all dressed in white which again is another contrast. The smaller features are at both the top and bottom of the cover, they are all in smaller text to the main title which shows they have smaller articles.

The colour scheme is black and white also, this is due to the rap group being called Black Hippy, the stereotypical connotations of black and red together are violence, which is one of the many stereotypes of rapping – guns, money and girls. The ideology behind this is that they want to sell as many of these magazines as possible. So they try to make the magazine as attractive to the reader. They don't only make the magazine look nice, they put the most popular artists – in that music genre – and display them on the front of the cover so you can clearly tell what the main article of this magazine is going to be. It has the main conventions of a magazine too, for example, they have the barcode in the bottom right hand side of magazine as well as having the date, issue number and the price close to the barcode.

Again the masthead of the magazine is red and white, bold writing and the background of the magazine is white which creates a contrasts between the red and the white. They chose these colours because it stands out due to the red being brighter than the white. The main image is the person in the main feature – 'Big Sean' – with the sub heading – 'living the good life'. This is represented by the him holding gold chains up against his face as gold is expensive and he has multiple chains showing that he has money. His top is black so they have put the heading and sub heading in bold white writing which creates contrast and is very visible to the reader and so the reader doesn't get confused it has the sub features in grey writing which isn't as distinct as the main title because it isn't as bright as the white on black contrast. This allows the reader to tell the difference between the main feature and the sub features.

The colour scheme is red, black and white. These colours do go well together but they do create a very easily visible contrast between the black and white, and the red and white. Black and red have connotations of death, blood and danger which are all part of the 'Rapper' image. They also use the colour scheme to make the magazine look as attractive as it can be for the audience to buy it and have the most popular artists in that genre represented on the cover. This represents the ideology behind this is to get the biggest rappers at that moment in time and show off that you have interview with them. Also to sell as many magazines as possible. The barcode is displayed in the bottom right of the magazine simliar to RESPECT. Along with the price and the date of the issue.

The main image is the artist sat upon a roof over looking a landscape, this is because this rapper is very different to other rappers. He uses his music knowledge to create unique backing tracks. So this cover is very different cover to each of the Complex magazines. The usual covers are either MCUs (Medium Close Ups), CUs (Close Ups) or Group Shots. Although the masthead is still bold white writing, the sub heading reads 'Chidlish Gambino on the edge'. This is represented by the artist sitting on the edge, quite high up. This magazine actually has a motto just a lot smaller than the title, 'Buy, Collect, Obsess', which tells the reader that once you buy the magazine you'll become obsessed with collecting the magazine, because it's really good. None of the smaller features are seen anywhere on the page, this is probably due to it being a special magazine. The artist may have just brought out a recent album and they could be celebrating it.

This magazine is a little different because the barcode isn't displayed in the bottom left of the magazine along with the date and price, although it will most probably be displayed on the back of the magazine, and again most probably along with the date and price too. The colour scheme isn't as clear on this cover either, although from what I can see it's blue and white as the masthead and other writing is portrayed as white onto of the blue sky. The writing, like in the last cover goes behind the artist's head, this is so it doesn't go infront of the artist and it won't cover his face. Blue has connotations of peace and tranquillity and white has connotations purity and innocence. They most probably used these colours because it shows how Childish Gambino is different to other rappers.