This is the cover of an edition of XXL featuring Kanye West. The target audience of the magazine is males aged around 16-25 who have an interest in Rap/Hip-Hop. This is already shown in the type of imagery and font used as well as the specific colour choice. The main focus is an image of ‘Kanye West’ from a medium low angle which shows him as quite strong and powerful- also reflected in his stance and posed facial expression. In addition his clothing is very dominant with shades covering his eyes and a large gold chain round his neck connoting his wealth and status. This links to the subheading of ‘SWAGGER LIKE A ROC STAR’ which is a great example of anchorage where the image matches wording. His whole image can also be looked at quite futuristic, a theme which seems to be concurrent on the whole cover. The background image at first sight appears to be an animated Japanese city where some sort of war is taking place using lots of dark colour variations maybe representing the stars life in some way and how maybe he is or has experienced rough times then linking back to the main image- that could represent how he has triumphed and kept his head held high.
The font used for the magazine title ‘XXL’ is a very thick, clear block font which really makes it stand out grabbing the audience’s attention as well as being easily identifiable on each issue. It is placed in a white fill with a red masthead which makes it seem very energetic and lively without being tacky. This is an example of anchorage as the word directly links to the size and impact. The font for the artist’s name ‘Kanye West’ is placed in quite a slick, futuristic looking font which seems to be a theme for the whole front cover. Other text includes another artist featured in the magazine in the top right hand corner which shows how the magazine must have enough of a reputation and how the main focus must be attracting enough in order to only show these few features on the page.
A range of different colours have been used on this front cover. The background image features pale red and deep orange which evoke feelings of rage, fire and urgency where as green is also featured on the buildings- this could represent innocence and safety all the while terror and war are going on outside. The artist is wearing a black shiny coat which connotes he is quite fashionable and cool as well as the gold chain which furthers this connotation. The font is featured in a white font with a black background which is quite basic and simple giving the idea the idea the artist doesn’t need bright colours to show is reputation- then the strap-line contrasts this idea as the yellow connotes quite contemporary design.
This is typical of the Rap/Hop-Hop genre as stereotypically, this type of magazine uses a definitive image of the artist where by it is taken from a low angle to connote dominance; features a certain type of style and clothing which gives the audience ideas of wealth and coolness; and features very strong, bold colours that make the artist seem fearless. Other features that are typical of this genre are the masthead being very authoritative and making an impact with its bold lettering and deep red background as well as the feature of having other artists as the only other pieces of text on the page- this gives the impression that the magazine is filled with a varied range of artists.
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