First published in 1997.

The first issue featured rappers Jay Z and Master P.

To begin with the magazine only featured Rap but as it got more popular it began to feature Hip Hop to help sales.

XXL is a music magazine that has featured many rap/hip hop artists.

It is based in New York City and only releases 6 editions a year.

The first editions of XXL

The main image presents a typical male who is usually black as the stereotype of rappers is African American typically.

The colour scheme is mainly red, black and white which has been the same through out the years since the first publication.

Other rap artist that feature in the magazine will be on the front cover some where on most front covers of XXL

The artist on the front cover will usually be wearing some sort of jewellery and have tattoos on show. Also the artist will often have a hardened face to help them look cool and serious.

Its issued only 6 times a year but has recently decided to stop printing because of the decrease in sales.

XXL have a website online where you can find out tons of information about latest albums, all of the big Hip Hop artists, new songs etc.

Follows a standard magazine layout with colours and text.

Other than music XXL covers fashion and culture.

The cost of the magazine is $5 which is £3.14 in the UK.

Homepage of XXL

The fans of Rap music will be the target audience of XXL.

Aged between 16-24.

Predominantly male readers

Active rap fans who listen and like to know the latest about hip hop.

Interested in video games, fashion, gangs and possibly drugs.

Sees XXL as a rap magazine that will cover all of their favourite artists.

XXL features a lot of iconography associated with hip hop/rap and the style around it e.g. jewellery, tattoos, money, violence, guns.

The magazine is laid out in a professional way with capitalised text to have a stronger impact on the audience.

Red, black and white are the main colours of the magazine which go well with primary colours such as yellow and blue.

These styles suggest that the readership is mainly male.

The facial expressions of these two artists are straight and serious. 50 cent is covering his face which suggests he is hiding, possibly crime.

Tattoos on show and baggy clothing being rap related, giving the target audience a fashion sense to follow.

The magazines main colours of black, red and white.

Big bold text to catch attention from the target audience and others.

Very professionally laid out and has a clean cut/smart feel to it.

The mode of Address of XXL is casual and quite basic and therefore there isn’t much text to present.

As there isn’t much text on this magazine there isn’t any text to analyse. The only text on there mainly is rap artists names.

The lack of writing means that the magazine wants you to focus on the main image because the magazine will most likely have a big story about the front cover artist.

As you can see that the main sell line is short and attention seeking. It also goes with the artist that is on the front cover, Lil Wayne.

The rest of the text is on the right side of the magazine which brings in the rule of thirds meaning that this is what the audience will see last.

Also the text on the right is just the other artists featured in this magazine.

Owned by Vanessa Staten

Produced by Harris Publications.

First issue 1997, final issue 0ctober 2014.

XXL took over struggling DJ magazine Scratch and had other special projects such as Hip Hop Soul, Eye Candy and Shady45.

Published by Townsquare Media.

Based in New York – America.

Has a website called www.XXLMag.com.

1997 - 2014